Growing Pains
by tenner
Summary: Growing Pains: after Home: The House That Jack Built. Tenny has to learn to live on earth now. And boy does he have a lot to learn. New story, Milk Run, Multi chapter. Doc is kidnapped by alien-catchers bent on experimenting on him.
1. Monkeys & Kitties & Time Lords, Oh, My!

Jack buzzed Martha, who was as usual down in the lab. "Nightingale," he said, and heaved a sigh.

"Another headache?" she said. Great. Apparently, this was becoming an all too regular event.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his temples.

"What did he do this time?"

"He tried to buy the pizzeria."

"_What?"_

"He figured since we eat so much pizza we might as well own the place."

Jack winced at the sound of Martha's high-pitched giggle. "Sorry," she said. "But you have to admit there's a kind of crazy logic behind that assumption. Ahem. Still. I'll bring something up."

She walked in a few moments later and handed him a pill. "You sound like it's a doozy so I brought paracetamol."

He took the pill and dry-swallowed it. He sighed again. "I knew this was going to take some adjustment, but honestly, Martha, some of the things he comes up with!"

"Well, Jack, in all fairness, he really did think he could teach that weevil some janitorial skills. He just wanted them to have some degree of dignity."

"Yes, and it left a nice, big, steaming pile of dignity right in the middle of the conference room floor. And today, of all days, when we were meeting with that UNIT officer."

Martha bit back a grin. "Well, give him some credit, he did clean it up."

"Yeah, because he knew what would happen if he didn't!" Jack said.

"No, he did it because he knew how upset you were and he felt he'd disappointed you."

"Where is he now?" Jack asked.

"Down in the archives, pretending to sort things," she said. "He really is upset, you know. I think all this adjusting is making him feel rather less than intelligent. And he's still upset about the banana incident."

Jack laughed in spite of his headache. "Well, he did kind of walk right into that."

XXXXXXXXXX

Earlier that day Colonel Mitchell from UNIT had come for his appointment with Jack to discuss the increasing frequency of visitations by blowfish and what to do about it.

He'd met all of Jack's team before except a certain slender fellow in a brown pinstriped suit. Jack gestured to a chair at the opposite end of the table from where he sat. The Colonel greeted the team members he knew, then looked at the slender fellow in the suit. "Colonel Dexter Mitchell," he said. "Nice to meet you, Mister..?"

"Um, oh, Doctor. Doctor Tenny Harkness," answered the stranger.

"Tenny is our resident alien expert," Jack said.

"You can call me Doc," said the new member. "Or Tenny."

"Yes," answered the Colonel. "Now, about these blowfish—"

"Most of them are just kids," said Doc. "We try to contact their parents when we can. They usually have some sort of communication device on them."

"I'm sure that's very—" began the Colonel.

"Sort of a mobile phone," interrupted Doc.

"As I was saying, I'm sure that's helpful," the Colonel continued. "But I'm more interested in just getting them to stop. We have far too many of them in custody as it is. The situation is really getting to be quite—"

"Incarcerated?" Doc's eyes blazed. "They're kids!"

"Nonetheless, we have to—"

"Just because you're descended from apes," Doc said coolly, "doesn't mean you have to act like one."

"Doc—" Jack started.

"And what are you?" the Colonel snapped. "The son of God? Descended from apes, indeed. As if you aren't."

"Just because I bear a resemblance to you doesn't make me a monkey's uncle, does it?" Doc snapped.

And then… he reached into a bowl of fruit, picked up a banana and peeled it, munching on it rather angrily.

Everyone in the room except Doc began at that point to cover their mouths and snigger. Except the Colonel, who laughed outright and said, "Yes, we can tell by your choice of a snack."

Doc choked on his banana. His eyes darkened as they flitted from person to person. Seeing that they were all rather amused with his faux pas, he stood and hurled the banana into the trash and stormed out.

XXXXXXXXXX

Headache now managed, Jack made his way to the archives. He found his mate sitting on the floor, back against a wall, hugging his knees. Jack leaned against the wall next to him and slid down so that they sat side by side.

"We weren't laughing at you," he said.

Death glare.

"Okay, we were laughing at you," Jack said and sighed. "But you have to admit, you did make an easy target of yourself with the banana."

His bottom lip quivered. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, Jack, I'm never going to get the hang of this! I feel so…thick. Thick and…_alien!"_

"But sweethearts, you _are _alien," Jack put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. "And you are _not _thick. You're just having growing pains."

"I keep making an ass of myself," he said sadly. "I'm sure I'm a complete embarrassment to you."

"Hey!" Jack's brows went downward in a frown of disapproval. "Don't you ever think that! I'm proud of you, baby!"

"You can't be."

"Can so! You have a lot to deal with. It's been a long time since you spent this much time on earth. You just have to get reacquainted with how things work is all."

"You aren't angry? Embarrassed? I've been so stupid."

"Now, you stop that!" Jack scolded.

Jack had learned that his mate had two sides where their relationship was concerned…well, more than two, really, but the main two were the side that was Doc, who was more sure of himself, and Tenny, who was insecure, a bit lost and frightened half to death at the prospect of living with humans for such a long time. And a bit child-like. As in he needed reassurance and guidance. It didn't hurt that Tenny was as cute as the proverbial bug's ear. Right now it looked like Tenny was in charge. Very well, then.

"Come here," Jack said, patting his lap. His mate threw a leg across Jack's thighs and settled himself, leaning against his husband. Jack put his arms around his Tenny and rubbed his back. "I'm sorry your feelings got hurt," Jack murmured into his hair. "But I want you to do something for me. I want you to try to learn to laugh at yourself. I do it all the time! It really will help."

He was quiet for some time, just relaxing against Jack's warmth and soaking up comfort. And then he began to giggle. "That really was daft of me to pick that exact moment to eat a banana," he said.

"There you go!" Jack said. "You're getting the hang of it. And it _was_ funny, but you know what? It was also cute as hell. I wanted to grab you and kiss the daylights out of you."

"You can still do that," Tenny said.

Jack obliged.

In a matter of moments, Tenny had Jack's trousers open and his head buried in Jack's crotch. And Jack was groaning as his mate pleasured himself orally. He threaded his fingers through Tenny's hair and moaned with ecstasy. Tenny began to knead Jack's thighs like a cat. And then Jack's eyes nearly rolled up in his head. Because Tenny started _purring_ around his sweetly aching member.

"Oh, gods," Jack groaned. "I nuh-never…oh…Tuh-Tenny, baby, oh it feels so fucking _good."_

Tenny purred harder. Jack's heart pounded in his chest with excitement. His mate's fingers kneaded harder. The purring intensified as they both neared orgasm. When it hit Jack he had to bite his knuckles to keep from screaming and Tenny's purring became so loud the sound bounced off the archive walls.

XXXXXXXXXX

Martha became a bit worried about Jack and Doc. They had been down in the archives for quite a while. What if some alien tech had malfunctioned down there? Ianto assured her over and over they would have known, but she found no comfort in his words. They decided to nip down there and check they were okay.

When they slipped in, quietly, just in case they were arguing, all they heard was Jack. He was softly singing, but they couldn't make out what it was. They peeked around a row of shelves and saw Jack sitting on the floor, back against the wall, with Doc curled up in his lap. Drawing nearer, they heard Doc purring between the lines Jack was singing: "Soft Tenny, warm Tenny, little ball of fur, happy Tenny, sleepy Tenny, purr, purr, purr…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Tenny sat on the sofa outside of Jack's office, hands clenched between his knees. Martha walked by him and looked at him sympathetically. Ianto had told her about their latest outing. And now poor Tenny had to sit on what he had christened "the Naughty Couch". Apparently, he was in time out until his husband could calm down.

She went into Jack's office. This time it was a two-paracetemol headache. "I heard," she said.

"Thanks, he said, dry-swallowing the pills. "I know he meant well. Had to cancel the credit card."

"He's so tender-hearted," she said. "He didn't know any better than to give the Hub's card to that homeless guy."

Jack sighed. "I know," he said. "Guess I better go have some alone time with him. Soon as my headache eases off."

She left Jack's office. She sang softly, partly to herself, but partly to wipe that sad look off of Tenny's face: "Soft Tenny, warm Tenny, little ball of fur, happy Tenny, sleepy Tenny, purr, purr, purr…"

She watched out of the corner of her eye.

Tenny was smiling.

_finis_


	2. Words of Love

Words of Love

He suspected Jack had sent him to accompany Martha to pick out what kind of wedding invitations to send just to get him out of the Hub. After all, what did he know about these things? He said as much to Martha.

"How do you know he didn't do it to shop for something for you?" she replied. "You're terribly hard to keep a secret from, you know, and it is your first Valentine's Day together."

"S'pose you have a point," he said. Suddenly his jaw dropped. "Martha! What do I get him? I never bought anything for anyone for Valentine's Day!"

"I don't know," Martha said, a thoughtful look on her face. "I haven't thought of getting Ianto anything…we agreed to leave that until next year since we're getting married this year. Why don't you ask Rhys?"

"Guess I could do that. Find out what he likes to get from Penguin."

Martha kept her opinion to herself on that one. She was pretty sure what Rhys liked to get. Let Rhys field this one, she thought.

But Rhys was no help. "I was your carer!" he said, slightly outraged. "Not to insult you but that's just a bit much for me to handle, mate. I just can't do it." He scratched his head and said uncertainly "Ask Gwen."

Gwen actually was quite understanding about it. After all, they had one thing in common: they were married to men. She took him to a café and sat him down. "First you have to tell me what you have in mind," she said patiently.

"Wellll, I don't know, do I?" He shrugged. "Not done anything for Valentine's Day before, you know. I looked at cards but they just don't say what I want to say."

"Well, you have to figure out what it is you do want to say first, then, don't you?"

"S'pose."

Poor thing looked at a loss to Gwen. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Look, if it's any help, just keep it lighthearted. You know? Fun. It doesn't have to be all serious. I'm sure you'll get the message across. And you know the big idiot is mad about you already. And I know your mad about him, and he knows it, too. So just…have fun!"

"Do you mind if…well, I'd just like to…oh, never mind." He blushed deeply and Gwen guessed what he wanted to know.

"What do Rhys and I do?"

He nodded and blushed even redder than before.

"Well, I have these…ahem. Um, I guess you could call them costumes? French maid, schoolgirl. That sort of thing. Rhys loves them. And they're fun for me, too."

"Oh." He pulled a face. "I'm _not _going to dress up like a schoolgirl. Or a French maid. Or anything else like that."

"It doesn't have to be feminine," she said. "It can be anything you like. Something sexy. Something that'll tick all the right boxes for him. Use your imagination, I know you have one, and you're so clever. Just think it over, yeah?"

"Will you…will you go with me? I mean, to a costume shop? Please, Penguin?"

How could she resist those big brown eyes? Especially when he used his nickname for her when he had been so much like a little boy. Yes, like a little boy. She wondered what she would see in her own child's eyes some day. And with that in mind, how could she refuse to help him? When they entered the costume shop, he held her hand like a child unsure of himself. '_No wonder Rhys is so bloody protective of him,' _she thought. She almost felt guilty doing this with him. But then she remembered the pleading in his eyes, how he desperately wanted advice on how to please his husband. And that she could certainly relate to. She chose for herself a dove gray corset trimmed in baby pink that hid her baby bump with lace, complete with suspenders and pink stockings with dove gray spike heels.

XXXXXXXXXX

Martha and Ianto's wedding went beautifully. The Jones family had been so happy to see Jack and the Doctor. It was a red-letter day to be sure. When it wound down Doc was eager to get back home and celebrate his first Valentine's Day with his husband. He couldn't stop himself fidgeting in the passenger seat and he was sure Jack noticed he just couldn't stop grinning.

When they entered the corridor that led to their home Jack scooped his sweethearts up and carried him to the door, delighting in his Tenny's child-like laughter. Doc used his sonic to unlock the door so Jack didn't have to put him down. He was carried in, and Jack plunked down on the sofa. Jack asked "What have you got planned? I know you have something in mind; you've been like a kid that needs a pee. I can tell you're eager so you go first. I'll show you what I have in mind later."

"Brilliant!" He jumped up and bounced on his heels. "Meet me on the roof. Give me ten minutes!" And off he shot.

Jack sat on the roof waiting patiently. He heard the access door open and a "Don't look 'till I say so!" There was the sound of footsteps approaching.

Doc took a deep breath and cleared his mind of anything but what he wanted to say. "I remember," he started. "I remember you saying you would miss me the way I was when I still needed you. When I was, well, I guess sort of your little boy. For a little while I got my innocence back. And I'm happy I'm well, really I am. But you know, I miss it sometimes too. You took such good care of me. You helped me relearn so much. You looked after me. You guided me. Protected me. You did everything for me. I remember it all, Jack. Every little thing you did for me. And I can tell you wish I was a bit more like that sometimes, because you loved taking care of me. So I thought, why not? Just for the night, why can't I do this for my husband? Be the boy who never grew up. Okay. You can look."

Jack turned around. And there he was, his Tenny. Dressed like Peter Pan, right down to the tights and a cap, feather sticking jauntily out, with the exception of his shoes. They were green converse. He stepped forward and held out his hand. "I have something for you. Just like in the story. A kiss."

He dropped a thimble into Jack's palm. Jack gazed at it. And silly as it was, his eyes still misted up. Daft little adorable alien bugger! Daft little adorable _brilliant_ alien bugger. He had hit Jack in a real soft spot all right. He closed his hand around the thimble. "I'm never getting rid of it," he said. "And I'll never forget this. Come here, you little nut!" He grabbed Doc and kissed him, long and lingering and full of meaning. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby," he said.

"This isn't all!" Doc said. Out of a pocket, he produced two items. They had been cobbled together from bits of alien tech Jack recognized. He took Jack's wrist and snapped one of the things around it, then did the same to his own wrist.

"What are they?" asked Jack.

"Oh, just a bit of Time Lord pixie dust and happy thoughts," Doc said, grinning. He took Jack's hand. "You don't have to do anything. They're keyed to respond to me telepathically. Let's live a little! Come on, just trust me!"

Which of course, Jack did. Doc took a little leap, tugging at Jack's hand…and they rose into the air.

And in the chill night air, two men flew across the sky over Cardiff, out over the bay, turning figure-eights and loop-de-loops, whooping, hollering and crowing, tearing away at breakneck speed, banking over the plass only to zip back out over the bay. "Brilliant!" Jack shouted, hooting with delight. "This is fantastic! Woo hoo!"

Doc held both of their hands and they rotated slowly, gazing into each other's eyes. "When you wish upon a star…" he sang.

"You're the only star in the sky for me," Jack said. "This is the most beautiful gift, sweethearts."

"Happy Valentine's Day, my Jackitty-Jack-Jack!"

They slowed and stopped, hovering high over the water, and there, against the deep blue-black backdrop of a starlit sky, they danced to the tune of Midnight Sun as Jack hummed softly into his lover's ear. He held his husband closely, tenderly, pouring his heart into their embrace. Soon things got a bit heated, Jack's giddiness and delight turned more passionate as his lover's hands roamed and their kisses grew more heated.

"Come on, Wendy, time to go home," Doc said with a wink.

"That's _Wendell!" _Jack said, grinning as they zipped back to the roof over their home.

When they landed and went back down into the corridor that led to their home, Jack once more scooped him up in his arms, again delighting in his Tenny's laughter. "Look at you," he said. "All flushed with excitement! Oh, it's good to see you having so much fun, sweethearts! We really do need to take the vortex manipulator out for a good old-fashioned adventure. A good romp suits you."

Doc once more unlocked the door with his sonic so Jack didn't have to put him down. Just as before, he was carried to the sofa and just as before, Jack plunked down, holding him in his lap. "Love the Peter Pan getup," he said. "That was so sweet of you. You can be my boy who never grew up any time you want." He paused. "Actually, you've always been that, haven't you? Tearing across time and space, battling monsters, spiriting us poor humans away for the adventure of a lifetime. You really are Peter Pan, aren't you?"

Doc grinned and gave a crow worthy of the name Pan. Jack laughed and pulled him into a tight hug. "Now me," Jack said. He took a small box out of his pocket and gave it to Doc. "Go on, open it!"

Doc opened the little box. Inside was a necklace. On it hung a pendant: a small crystal shaped like a key. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jack said. "My dad gave it to my mom. His mom gave it to my grandfather. It's been in my family for generations. It's my family's love stamp."

Doc pressed it to his temple. He could hear them; the voices of Jack's family members, psychically stamped into the crystal forever, each one sending powerful waves of love and joy to their intended. And it went back to before his people had settled the Boeshane Peninsula. And above all the other voices he could hear Jack's voice. "I wish," it said, "that I could find a gift for you as beautiful as the one you have given me. But that isn't possible. You gave me the most beautiful thing in the universe. You gave me _you. _I give myself to you in return, yesterday, now and forever. But even that can never be enough for you, my sweethearts."

Jack gently took it from him and fastened it around his neck. "It feels warm," Doc said.

"That's because it's filled with loving thoughts, across the generations. Now it's yours, my sweethearts. You are my life, my hope, my all. It can't be said enough, sweethearts. I _love_ you." He placed his palm along Doc's cheek and kissed his lips almost reverently. And then he smiled wickedly. "As much as I'm tempted to rip that costume off with my teeth, I'm not doing it. _That_ is a keeper. We are going to be playing with that one a lot. Go on, take it off."

"Do I _have_ to, Captain?" Doc pouted in his best little boy voice.

Jack chuckled and smacked his bottom. "Go on, go change. I have champagne and strawberries! Bedroom. Now."

Doc grinned. "Yes _sir, _oh Captain, my Captain!"

When Jack got to their bedroom with their treats Doc was dressed in his burgundy raw silk pyjamas that Ianto had picked out for him the first night they had made love. He was sitting primly on the edge of the bed, hands folded neatly in his lap, and Jack wondered how, after everything they had done, he could manage to look so innocent.

And then it hit him.

He _was _innocent. Even after everything they had done. Somehow, his Doc, his Tenny, remained innocent, securely in a Never- Never land of his own making. And no matter what they did, no matter how long they were together, be it an eternity, he would remain innocent. Jack wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't human or if it was because he was just _him. _He didn't really care, but instead savored the mystery of him, the inner beauty as well as the outer beauty.

Besides, it was fucking drop-dead-even-if-you-can't-die _sexy._ He was Jack's own personal boy who would never grow up. And it made Jack want to fuck him to tears. Gods, his palms were sweating! How could his lover continue to affect him like this? How did he keep doing it, stealing Jack's heart over and over again?

He put down the champagne bucket and the bowl of strawberries and slipped out of his coat and his shirt, braces dangling at his sides, and, pouring their drinks, sat next to his Time Lord.

They raised their glasses. "To us, in love," Jack murmured.

"Too right," said Doc, a little smile playing across his lovely, mobile lips. His eyes sparkled like chocolate diamonds.

Jack tossed back his champagne. He grabbed the bowl of berries and sat them in the middle of the bed, watching as his love ate them. He adored feeding them to his husband. They stained his lips, and something about them always put Doc in a real mood for passion. He caressed his sweethearts' thigh softly, letting his hand drift up to Doc's crotch, releasing him from his pyjama bottoms. He stroked the hardening shaft slowly.

"Bet I can make you forget all about those berries," Jack said. He lowered his head and took Doc's member into his mouth, sucking slowly and lovingly, describing little circles with the tip of his tongue. He looked up to watch Doc's face, drinking in the beautiful expression stamped there of pure, unadulterated, selfish pleasure lovingly given and accepted. He paused to finish undressing his lover, and then went back to his prize with renewed hunger.

Gods but he tasted so good. The honey and sage hit his mouth and Jack already felt the aphrodisiac effect kicking in. By now, he was sure it was addictive and didn't care. He could never get enough of that taste and the heady rush that came with it. He cradled Doc's bum in his hands, taking him deeply and slowly.

"Oh, Captain, fuck me," Doc said.

"Not yet," Jack said. "That's the only dirty talk I ever hear from you. Tell me to suck your cock."

"Oh, Jack, really, I can't…_oh! _Oh, how did you do that?"

"Say it," Jack insisted. He slid a finger inside Doc's entrance, teasing his talas. "I won't fuck you until you say 'suck my cock', and I want you to come in my mouth."

Doc bit his lip. "Suck me," he said, obviously forcing the words out in desperation. "Suck my cuh-cock. Do it, Jack. Suck my cock."

Jack complied, greedily taking his mate in his mouth, drinking in the sweet moans, relishing those long fingers raking through his hair, and finally, as he got his reward, holding his love down while he arched into Jack's mouth in orgasm, his member throbbing beautifully for Jack, filling his mouth with honey and sage.

"My turn," Jack said. "Ask to suck my cock," Jack instructed.

Still gasping, Doc stared at Jack's crotch and licked his lips hungrily. "I want to suck you," he said. "I want to suck your cock. I want to make you come."

"Now you're catching on," Jack said, stroking his head. "See? Talking dirty can be fun."

"Let me suck your cock, Captain," Doc said. "And…and talk dirty to me. Please?"

Jack finished undressing, releasing his aching member from it's constraints. He placed his hand on the back of Doc's head and guided it down. "Suck my cock," he ordered. "You want me to talk dirty? You're sure?"

Doc grasped his shaft. "Yes," he growled. "It's rather splendid, though I don't know why. C'mon, Jack! Take charge! You know I like it," he said teasingly.

Jack pushed his head down. "Suck it," he said. "Suck it like a little slut. That's what you are, you know. You're a slut for my cock."

Doc moaned around Jack's shaft. "Look at you," Jack continued. "You'll do whatever I say, like a whore, won't you?"

Doc moaned louder. "That's it, suck that dick. Gods, you're a little bitch in heat, aren't you? You can't get enough cock, can you?"

Doc moaned yet again, going deeper. Jack pulled out. Doc whimpered.

"Time for you to get fucked," he said. "Hands and knees."

Doc presented himself obediently. His perky little ass just begged to be violated. He was so aroused the honey and sage scent filled the room and his inner thighs glistered, he was so wet and ready. "Fuck me, Jack," he whimpered. "Please, fuck me."

Jack positioned himself. Doc surprised him by suddenly pushing back, impaling himself completely. "Uhn, yes, oh Jack, let me be your slut. I want to be a slut for you, to have you and fuck you and suck you. I want you to be the only one who makes me come," he moaned, grinding his bottom in little circles.

And Jack, though his people traditionally never subscribed to such feelings, found he wanted the same. "I better be the only one to make you come," he growled. "That's why I don't want you to touch yourself. I want every orgasm to belong to me. I want to be the only one to make you feel like this. Make you whimper and moan. Make you act like a little whore. A cock-hungry little bitch. I'm going to be still and your going to do all the moving. Show me how much you love that cock up your ass."

Doc groaned yet again, pushing back rhythmically. He moved faster, harder, demanding in his desire. Jack let him work for it. He smacked Doc's ass. "Tell me how it feels," he commanded.

"Oh, so thick and hot," Doc gasped. "Filling me up. Oh, Jack, the way the head hits my talas! It's pure bliss. And you are so right, I can't get enough of your cock. I want to be your slut. I want you to make me love it, make me beg. I want you to tell me when and how to feel pleasure for you, tell me when I'm allowed to come."

"Do it," Jack commanded. "Come on my cock for me." Jack grasped his hips and began to meet Doc's movements. "I'm going to fuck you, my little slut. I'm going to fuck your ass like it's a cunt." He let his dominant streak take full control now, blotting out everything else, giving pleasure in taking pleasure, studding his lover like a beast, thrusting in with tooth-rattling ferocity.

Doc gasped, opened his mouth, cried out in pleasure as he came for his lover, obeying his command joyously. "Yes, yes, come in me, Captain, fill me up! _Ouagh!"_

Jack felt those wonderful alien muscles tugging, pulling him in, grasping him greedily. His cock throbbed almost painfully, the ecstasy washing through him until there was only this, only overwhelming pleasure, only the wonderful creature he now possessed completely, filling him with joy, his pleasure washing away anything else.

And there was that wonderful extended orgasm. This time it lasted so long by the time Doc finished Jack was rock hard again. "Now look what you did, you insatiable little bastard," Jack said. "Now I'm hard again. What are you going to do about it?"

"May I please suck your cock?" Doc said, still flushed with his last orgasm, yet hungry for more. "Will you please let me have an oral orgasm for you?"

Jack lay on his back and spread his legs. "Well, get to it," he ordered. "You need a good mouth-fucking."

Doc scrambled into place, eagerly grasped his prize and swallowed Jack completely. Jack placed his hands at the back of Doc's head and thrusted up into his mouth and down his throat. "That's right," he growled. "Swallow it. You know you love it. You can't get enough."

Doc paused. "Prydonian," he said, giving their safe word. "I want you to make love to me now. Enough kink for tonight, okay?"

Jack stroked his head lovingly. "Anything you want, sweethearts." He guided Doc's head back down and let him do as he pleased.

"I will say this, though," Doc said. "I _do_ love it. And I _can't_ get enough." He let Jack guide his head down and…

Oh. Jack did love his kink. But there's something to be said for a besotted Time Lord concentrating on showing his love and taking pleasure in orally pleasing a man he adores. He suckled Jack slowly and tenderly, rubbing his talas sensually, as much to show Jack how much pleasure his husband gave him as to give pleasure to that husband. He wanted Jack to see just how much their relationship meant; that yes, he took pleasure in this, but it meant just as much to give pleasure.

He paused and kissed Jack's thighs. "You taste so good," he said. "I remember when I was broken and you let me do this. Looking back, I can tell now that you were afraid you were doing wrong by me. But, oh, Jack, you weren't. My oral orgasms are just as satisfying as my others. And it pleases me that you can't get that from anyone else. No one can come with their mouth for you. I like giving you something no other living being can get. Sometimes I almost wish you'd tell other men what you have that they don't." He went back to his ministrations, obviously making love with his mouth as much as Jack had.

"Come any time you like, sweethearts," Jack said. "This time, you take what you want."

And Doc did. He got himself off twice before Jack came, and another time during Jack's orgasm.

"I give," Jack said. "You've worn me out."

"Nope," Doc said, grinning mischievously. "I like it when you push me. Make me keep going. My turn now!" He took Jack's cock into his mouth again and determinedly got him hard yet again.

"Gods," Jack moaned. "Good thing we've got my genetics on our side. You'd kill a normal man."

Doc slithered up Jack's body and kissed him. "Top me," he murmured. "I want to be under you. I want you nice and slow and sweet. Let me come for you. Let me show you how many times you can make me come."

"Ooooo, baby, sounds good to me!" Jack rolled them over. Doc hiked his legs up and locked them around Jack's middle, moaning as his husband claimed what was his.

"Kiss me," Doc said softly. "It'll make me come for you more easily. I don't want to wait for you to tell me. I want you to see how easy it is for you to make me feel what you want me to feel."

And oh, boy, did Jack ever. He went slowly, so slowly, kissing his lover all the while. Two orgasms, almost back to back. Doc broke the kiss.

"Now make me wait for you," he said. "Now you know how easily I come for you. Let me show you how much I love you taking control."

Jack continued moving achingly slowly. So very soon, Doc was on the edge yet again. "That's it, sweethearts," he said tenderly. "You wait for your Jack. You wait just like you wanted. I could come now, but I want to give you what you want. So this is going to be nice and easy."

It took a huge amount of self-discipline, but Jack did as his lover had bid, moving just enough to keep himself hard. Soon Doc began to whimper, then to beg, but still Jack made him wait.

"Not yet," he soothed. Gods, why did that begging make him ache to come? "Not yet." This partly to his lover, but in honesty also partly to himself. He waited until Doc quivered helplessly, biting his lip.

"Oh, Jack, Jack, it feels so good, so good I can't bear it," he gasped. "Tell me how it feels? How does it feel to know you control me?"

"You fucking make me feel like a god," Jack growled in answer. "To know you're a Time Lord…and you bend to my will. You make me feel so powerful. So important. You make me feel worshiped. It makes me want to never stop fucking you, sweethearts. It makes me never want to stop making you feel bliss. You deserve it. You make me feel like I have the power to do that. To give you all the pleasure you could possibly want. You giving me control? Oh, baby, don't you see? That makes me a slave to your love, to your passion. I can never stop trying to please you. Trying to be the best lover you could ever have."

"And it makes me feel worshiped," Doc replied. "Like there is nothing you wouldn't do to make sure I never look at anyone else twice. Like I'm something sacred to you that you can't bear to think of parting with. Like you have to possess me because there's nothing else more precious to you. That you can't bear the thought of me not being yours. Oh, my Jack, you make me feel like the center of the universe."

"You are," Jack said. "There is no one or nothing quite like you. And you're mine. Not just mine, but all mine. I want to write it across the stars. It's already written throughout my soul."

"Oh," the Time Lord said. "And you mean every word. Oh, my Jack, let me give you all my pleasure with all my love. Take it, but take it when you like. To show me you'll do anything to prove how much you want to possess me."

"Mine," Jack growled. "All mine, all of you. Give me your come, that's mine too. I won't let you have mine, I won't let you see how much I worship you until you do. Give me your pleasure. You can't have it until I say so. And I say so now."

"Oh! Oh, my Jack! Take me, own me, worship me, make me yours! Please, my love? Please? May I give you my pleasure, just to please my husband?"

"Do it," Jack commanded. "It belongs to me. Give it to me _now!_

"Yours!" Doc cried. "All yours. My Jack. My Captain! Take what belongs to you. Tell me I have your permission to worship you!"

His love so wanted this, and Jack would deny him nothing. Not even if it meant making him Jack's property.

"Come for me. Wait until I do. Only then are you allowed," Jack said forcefully, knowing that his mate was awaiting his permission. He moved hard and fast now, and with force born of conviction. What baby wanted, baby got.

The second Jack came, so did his lover in acquiescence and in adoration, giving Jack his obedience, willfully giving himself, even to the point of when he may enjoy fulfillment. And all to show Jack, again and again, that he wanted to belong to his husband. That in pleasing this man who worshiped him, he was also worshiped in return.

Their pleasure washed though them mutually and thoroughly, draining them both to the point of exhaustion. Doc gave Jack a gasping laugh of delight. "My husband," he breathed. "My Captain. My magnificent lover." He pulled Jack's face down into a kiss. "I would be very pleased to know I've satisfied you."

"Oh, gods, baby!" Jack gasped in return. "No one has ever satisfied me as much as you do. Body, mind and soul. You've made me so happy tonight, from the dances at Martha's wedding to just now. Even the way you loved my gift." Jack placed his palm over the little crystal key. "Feel how warm it is? It's telling you how much I love you."

"I've tried to tell you how much I love you tonight," Doc said. "From the dancing right on to now. I'm glad you liked the Peter Pan thing."

"I adored it," Jack said. "That's really when we started making love tonight, you know. You were telling me how much you love me. So many ways to say _'I love you'._ And we live and love forever. We get to discover all of them."

Doc grinned. "We could write a book," he said, then suddenly yawned. "We could call it "Words of Love"."

"Might just do that," Jack said, cuddling his love in his arms. "We could tell the universe all about our love. Maybe it will inspire others!"

"Then it would be worth the effort," Doc said. He snuggled into Jack as Jack pulled him into their customary sleeping position.

Jack kissed him tenderly before settling him in, cradled in his arms. He stroked behind his adored one's ear, knowing the purring would begin. And with that in his ears, he drifted off, happily worn out.

He woke a few hours later to the feel of a wet, hungry mouth wrapped around his hard cock, sparks of pure pleasure arcing throughout his body. Doc was sucking him, purring loudly as he nursed on his beloved's cock. They reached their climax as one. Jack grinned as his love continued to hold his member in his mouth, suckling, as the purring grew softer and softer like a sleepy kitten. Oh, well, let him steal all the cock he wanted, Jack thought. Only an idiot would complain. It happened yet again in the small pre-dawn hours. And yet again when it was almost time to begin their day. Jack grinned. This was a new development. He fervently hoped Doc would continue to tell him wordlessly how much his Captain pleased him this way, and suddenly understood that Doc doing this was as much for self-comfort as self (and mutual) pleasure. If that made his sweethearts happy, then (oh yes!) let him suckle and nurse all he wanted throughout the night. Who was he to complain? He felt no small amount of satisfaction in privately lording it over every married man he had known for centuries. After his little eye-opener, he forcibly pushed his purring lover away, pinning him down and doing a little eye-opening himself. He couldn't purr, but from the sounds Doc made as Jack swallowed his juices, apparently it made his love happy.

And across the universe in the year ten billion sixty-eight, a young betrothed couple lay sprawled in the purple grass, the book they had been reading to each other left open face down so as not to lose their place. They would take it back up when they finished their love-making. The title on the spine read _"Words of Love: an Eternal Love Affair and How to Have One by Jack and Tenny Harkness."_


	3. Monsters Under the Bed, Angels in It

The Monsters Under the Bed and the Angels in It

* * *

><p>Jack sat in bed, propped up against the headboard. In his hand he held a magazine. His other hand toyed with Doc's hair. Doc lay with his head in Jack's lap, purring as he dozed.<p>

They had made love, but after, Jack hadn't felt sleepy. So he had pulled his love close and settled him with his head in Jack's lap. That way he could still get his bed-time cuddles as he fell asleep, and Jack could read.

He smiled. The purring grew quieter and quieter as his beloved fell into a deep sleep. More than an hour later Jack was just about to lay aside his magazine when he noticed it.

He happened to look at Doc just as he was putting aside his reading. The expression on Doc's face looked troubled. He whimpered and stirred. He mumbled softly, then moaned miserably. Jack petted his head, making soft shushing sounds.

"Throw him out!" Doc suddenly said; he jumped in Jack's hands, struggling as if trying to escape.

"Hey, hey," Jack said, holding onto him gently but firmly. "You're all right, you're all right," he soothed. Doc's sleep-blurred eyes locked onto his husband and he gave a great exhalation of relief and let himself be pulled into Jack's lap. "You had a bad dream?"

"Yeah," Doc said. But it was the way he said it that got to Jack. It was the side of him Jack thought of as Tenny: uncertain and lost and child-like. His voice had gone soft and tremulous, like a little boy.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Just…just a bad dream," he replied. "Don't remember."

Now that Jack simply didn't believe. He thought about pushing the issue and decided to leave it for later. Right now what Doc needed was a little comfort. He readjusted their position, lying on his back with Doc's head in its customary place on his chest so Doc could hear his heartbeat, Jack's arms gently cradling him. "It's okay," Jack said. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He stroked his lover's soft skin gently. "Go back to sleep, sweethearts, your Jack has you."

Doc snuggled into him. "Ear," he mumbled.

Jack grinned, knowing what his adored Time Lord wanted. He softly petted the skin behind Doc's ear. "Jack's got you," he said softly. "You just go ahead and cuddle, baby. I'll be your teddy bear, okay?"

"'Kay," murmured Doc, snuggling in a little more, meltling into Jack as he was petted and cuddled. Soon the purring started back up again.

Jack secretly smiled to himself. He couldn't help feeling his chest swell with adoration at his husband's unquestioning acceptance of Jack's comforting him. Once this would have been unthinkable. The Time Lord he had once been would have blown a gasket at the mere idea of being coddled and comforted like a child.

Guess love makes even Time Lords do funny things…with that thought in mind Jack dozed off. Only to waken a short while later. Doc was at his crotch again, orally pleasuring himself and his husband, purring away like mad. Once more, Jack had the feeling this had something to do with self-comfort.

And while Jack would never stop him (those purr-jobs were simply mind-blowing!) he had to wonder if Doc's nightmares had something to do with his actions. He had been paying attention and there was definitely a pattern. When Doc had another nightmare he would wait until Jack was asleep, then seemingly distract himself from his fears by pleasuring them both. Jack suspected Doc felt he wouldn't pry about the nightmares as long as he was being orally pleased.

Not that he could have stopped even if he tried. And the little alien shit knew it! It felt so overwhelmingly good Jack found himself powerless to stop. All he could do was wait and enjoy the ride. He had to wonder about the mechanics of it. How could he breathe and purr while having Jack so deep in his mouth was a wonder. The vibrations alone made Jack's head swim with overpowering pleasure. Add to that the wet warmth and the gentle but insistent (even demanding!) suckling and there was no way to stop himself from reacting. Doc's long, graceful fingers kneaded the flesh of Jack's thighs as he enjoyed himself, and not for the first time Jack couldn't avoid the comparison to a nursing kitten. Yes, his husband was definitely comforting himself through pleasuring them both.

The purring grew more intense the closer Doc got to orgasm. He tugged at Jack's member insistently, almost aggressively until finally…

"Ouch! Hey, baby, take it easy, yeah?"

"Sorry," Doc said. "Got a little carried away, I s'pose." He dropped a half-dozen light kisses on Jack's thighs before going back to his cock, this time more carefully. As if to make up for getting too rough, he took Jack even deeper, still purring away like mad. His fingers kneaded a little faster as he neared orgasm. It was when he moaned around Jack's cock as well as purred that set Jack off. Jack's hips rose off the mattress with the intensity of his orgasm. He felt himself flooding his lover's hungry mouth, felt those lovely muscles in Doc's tongue and throat _pulse _with pleasure at his own climax.

As with every time Doc got him off with a purr-job, Jack could do nothing for a few moments but gasp weakly. Doc was busily rubbing his face against Jack's thigh contentedly, once more cat-like.

When he had recovered enough, Jack grabbed him and pulled him close. He sat up and pulled Doc into his lap once more. "Okay, sweethearts," he said firmly. "Time for you to spill. I want to know about these nightmares. Your husband isn't stupid _or_ uncaring. I've noticed this happens when you have nightmares. And while I sincerely hope you won't stop doing it…I love your sneaky little purr-jobs…I do want the nightmares to stop. So come on. Tell me. And yes, I'm ordering you to as your husband."

Doc seemed to shrink into himself in Jack's arms. And that Jack didn't like one bit. "Sweethearts," he said gently, "We are married, you know. You're supposed to be able to depend on me to help you. But how can I if you won't tell me? Please? Please tell me, baby! I feel so helpless. I want to help you feel better, but you have to trust me enough to share this with me!"

He looked up from where he had his face pressed into Jack's chest. He wrapped his arms around his husband. Eyes wide with sadness, he said one word. "Midnight."

"What?"

"Midnight. It happened on Midnight. Donna and I went there. I just…I just wanted to see the sapphire waterfalls, talk to some humans, you know. Like I love to do."

Jack softly stroked his arm encouragingly and kissed the top of his head. "Yeah, that sounds like you," he said lovingly.

"Some…_thing, _some kind of creature, consciousness. _Something _got into the truck. It broke the cab away from the truck. The driver and mechanic…they were vaporized instantly. It took over this woman named Sky. She started repeating everything we said to her. I tried! Jack, I tried so hard!" He whimpered and buried his face in Jack's chest.

Jack continued to stroke his arm, kissing the top of his head again with soft, comforting sounds. He waited patiently for Doc to continue.

"I tried to get them to be quiet because it was learning. Absorbing. _Becoming. _I explained that I didn't want her becoming me because then things would get really bad. I should have kept my mouth shut. Because they figured it out. That I'm not human. And…oh, Jack, _they turned on me!_ The thing, it stopped repeating everyone but me. And then…Oh! Oh, it stole my voice! It took my _words,_ Jack! The thing was still in Sky and all I could do was repeat what she was saying. And she told them to cast me out. Throw me out. And I had to repeat it! I was telling them to kill me, Jack, and I couldn't stop! I knew they could see how scared I was, but Cane didn't care."

"Who is Cane?" Jack asked a little too calmly.

"One of the other passengers, there with his wife and son. Cane grabbed me and made his son help him and oh Jack! They were going to do it! My humans! My humans, whom I've always loved so much! _They meant to murder me! _ I was helpless! I couldn't have hurt them and they were going to kill me for _bloody not being human! _I couldn't move, I couldn't say anything but what the creature made me say. And I _know _they could see in my face I was terrified _and nobody cared! _And they were dragging me to the door to throw me out into the poisonous sunlight." He choked on his words then, and Jack felt cool tears on his skin.

"But the creature, when it stole my words, it used the wrong ones. The stewardess, she had heard me say 'molto bene' and 'allons-y' and when the creature in Sky said those words, the stewardess knew she had stolen my words. She grabbed Sky and threw the both of them out into the Xtonic sunlight. She died to save me, Jack. And after, all I could do was lie on the floor and say 'it's gone, it's gone' over and over. No one even tried to help me up. So I just stayed on the floor. Like a beaten dog. _Because I was so afraid of them! _I've only ever tried to help humans, Jack! And they turned on me!"

He trembled in Jack's arms like a dying bird. He gave a single, body-wracking sob and began to weep.

"What did Donna do?" Jack asked, trying to pull him out of his fears.

He laughed amid his tears. "Oh, she tried hunting them down, but they left before she got her claws in them. But she was so sweet, Jack. She hugged me and cuddled me back together. She's just the best."

"Yeah, she is," Jack said, still petting him, cuddling him. "And you've been having nightmares ever since then?"

Sniff. "Yup."

"And then you have to distract yourself. Comfort yourself. And you don't want to wake me to talk so you use sex as a substitute?"

Sniff, sniff. "Yuh-yup." He was hiccoughing now from crying so hard. Jack stroked his back tenderly.

"Well, from now on, you're to wake me. That _is _an order. We can talk, and I'll do what I can to help you sort yourself. Then if you want sex, we can have that, too. Okay?"

"'Kay." Sniff. "Promise."

XXXXXXXXXX

A few days later Jack sent him with Martha to London to pick up medical supplies. He told Doc they needed to stop by Sara Jane's and see how she was doing. Word had gotten out that Sara Jane hadn't been feeling well, and Jack wanted to know if she was all right. She would talk more easily with Doc than anyone else, he had told his husband, so he really wanted Doc to go by and check she was all right.

While they were gone, Jack set his vortex manipulator and paid a little visit to Midnight.

Turned out the reason Donna hadn't been able to catch up with Cane was because he was at hospital. Being treated for cracked ribs and a broken jaw.

When Jack got home, he bandaged his knuckles. He would think up some excuse as to how he had hurt himself later, if he hadn't healed up by the time Doc got back. He called Donna and told her about it.

"Jack Harkness," Donna said upon hearing his story, "I completely disagree with violence like that. And I bloody love you."

Doc never found out about Jack's own little holiday on Midnight. But he kept his word, and when he had nightmares, he woke Jack. They would talk long into the night. And then there were those amazing purr-jobs. Even better than before, because these were happy purr-jobs. Happy, and filled only with passion and love, not desperation and fear.

There might be monsters under the bed. But they better watch out for the avenging angel _in_ the bed. The avenging angel had an angel of his own: one he meant to love and protect.

_finis_


	4. Milk Run part 1

Milk Run

Part 1

"Heading to the Hub, see ya in a tick," Jack called.

Doc was rummaging through the fridge. He heard Doc call out.

"I asked you to pick up the milk last night! Where is it?"

Jack winced. "Sorry! I forgot."

"You mean you forgot again," Doc said, a definite scolding in his tone.

"I'll get it today! Promise!"

"You said that yesterday. At approximately 17 hours, 37 minutes and 20.8 seconds."

Sometimes, Jack thought, being husband to a Time Lord could be a pain. But he couldn't help grinning. "I know. Sorry, sweethearts. "

"Jack, honestly, you _know_ how I want milk in my tea! It may not seem important to _you_ but it does to me."

"Sorry, babe, really. I know how hard you've been working on Tosh's unfinished programs and I know you've been busy and I'll truly do my best to get the milk."

"Jack," Doc snapped. "Honestly, do you even listen to me when we aren't…_ahem_. Well, you know." Jack's mind flashed back to last night, Doc lying in his arms, his lean frame gone all soft and bendy, his large eyes shining like chocolate diamonds, and those soft, cute sounds he made when Jack topped him thoroughly. In bed, Doc was so sweet, so submissive. Truly Jack's baby. Out of bed, at times not so much. This was one of those times. "You _know _I hate shopping! I hate all those big stores. And it's hard for me to just stop what I'm doing with those programs and toddle off after milk when you're in and out of the Hub all day long. What do I have to do? Ask Ianto? _He's not my husband, Jack, you are!"_

Jack walked up behind him and slipped an arm around his waist. "You're right. And I'm sorry. Tell you what; I'll bring you some nice hot tea in the Hub. I know you like to have your morning tea at home, but that's the best I can do. And I'll get the milk today, promise."

"Well, all right. You get another pass," said Doc sulkily. "But we talked about this. The Hub is the Hub. The Hub is _work _and home is home. Just because our home is in the Hub doesn't mean the Hub is in our home!"

Every relationship has its rough patches, and this had been a real sticking point for Doc. Jack had lived in the Hub proper for so long that he had forgotten what is was to keep home life and work life separate. Hopping off to the Hub to randomly check rift spikes one evening had set off fireworks. Doc had planned a romantic evening at home. But Jack running off to the Hub at that particular moment was one time too many. It had spoiled Doc's mood for the evening and they had had quite a verbal sparring match over it. Doc had won that one. He had won it because he was right. Jack couldn't have two marriages under the same roof. When at work, fine, be at work. But once the workday was done, Jack's time rightly belonged to his husband.

Once in the Hub proper Jack delivered the promised tea as Doc opened Tosh's files.

"She really was brilliant, wasn't she?' Doc commented. "What a mind she had. Such a loss." He took the tea and sipped it. "Thank you," he added.

"Forgive me?" Jack asked, dropping a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't be silly. But don't forget the milk again, yeah?"

"I won't," Jack said. "Promise."

As it happened it was a very bad day to make that promise.

The Rift chose that day to dump everything possible on them, from Blowfish to raging Weevils to alien craft showing up, the occupants apparently doing so for their own amusement in frightening the natives. Add to that UNIT dumping a record amount of paperwork on Jack's desk, the SUV needing to be taken in for repairs and myriad other problems and the day was completely shot.

They had no more than knocked off and gone back to their little domicile when Doc went straight to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Doc slammed the door to the fridge and stared at Jack, a look on his face so icy that it could match the temperature in the freezer.

"Fuck," Jack muttered under his breath.

Doc strode through the kitchen, every movement speaking volumes. Jack reached out to touch him, but Doc swerved around him. He grabbed his coat, shrugging into it.

"What are—"

"I'll get the damned milk, myself."

"Come on Doc, I had a—"

"Don't," Doc snapped. "Just don't."

And with that he stormed out.

XXXXXXXXXX

He had taken a rather lengthy walk down by the bay to cool off. Sitting in a café, a cup of hot tea before him, Doc wondered now whom he was angrier with: himself or Jack. Of course Jack had been inconsiderate. But had it warranted him running off like a stroppy child? Relationships… He sighed. "S'pose they're complicated for everyone," he mumbled to himself. He suddenly felt quite self-conscious, talking to himself, and looked about. The hour was late and there were only two other people in the café besides the attendant. Due to his heightened hearing he couldn't help hearing their hushed conversation.

"Shut up, he's looking at us," said one, a tall, muscular fellow with red hair and gray eyes.

"He can't possibly hear us," answered his companion. This one was also a man; dark hair and black eyed, shorter but more powerfully built.

"Sure you got those readings right?" asked Red-Hair.

"I'm telling you I scanned him four times. This thing is always right. He isn't human. Among other differences to humans, he has two hearts."

Uh-oh. Better leave. Forget the milk. Just go back home, go back and let Jack know there was apparently a group of alien-hunters about. These people apparently had the tech to single out non-terrestrials, and somehow Doc didn't think they were UNIT. He had a bad feeling about this. He slid out of his bench seat and walked casually past the two of them towards the door.

He slipped around a corner as quickly as he could and sprinted down a side street. He was halfway home and sure he had somehow managed to get away, hands jammed in coat pockets, when he realized his mistake. He hadn't given them the slip. Whatever they had used to scan him with obviously worked as a tracker as well. As he passed a side street they flanked him. He looked about in panic, but the shops were all closed and the street empty. He rummaged in his pockets, looking for anything he might find useful to distract them, intimidate them, anything… His fingers felt a familiar object and he clutched it, attempting to identify it without blowing any chance of surprise, but before he could pull it out of his pocket they were closing in. A large black panel truck pulled up beside him. He ran towards it, hoping to call attention to himself so his stalkers would leave.

A door at the back of the truck sprang open and two more men jumped out and grabbed him by the upper arms. His stalkers took his legs and before he could even shout for help he was tossed inside the truck with the four men restraining him.

"Got him!" crowed Red-Hair triumphantly. "Another visitor, boys. This one looks very human, but wait until you see what the scanner reads on him say!"

XXXXXXXXXX

He was tossed into a room that was more or less constructed of unbreakable glass. In it was a small cot, a chair with straps on it, obviously meant for restraint and a gurney, also equipped with restraints. He threw himself against the glass. "Let me out! You really, really need to let me out! Because if you don't let me go it isn't going to turn out well for any of you."

A man in white approached the glass. He held a clipboard and was apparently taking notes. "Where are you from?"

"Let me go."

"Please cooperate. What is your planet of origin?"

"Doesn't matter. You don't have the right to do this."

"We have every right to do this," the man said with a little smirk. "You are an alien, not of this world. Therefore you have no rights."

"I know some that might have something to say about that."

"Do they know you're non-terrestrial?"

"Think I'll just let you ask them that. Somehow I don't think you'll like their reaction."

"Are you saying you're protected?"

Doc just gave him a mysterious grin.

"Well," said the man. "We'll just have to be careful to keep you our little secret, then. For your own safety, you should tell us what drugs or procedures may be dangerous to you. Otherwise we'll just have to take our chances during examinations or, heaven forbid, you should you need sedation." The man wore a slightly sinister look at the mention of sedation.

Doc felt the blood drain from his face as he backed away from the glass. "What do you want with me? Why are you doing this?"

"Medical research," replied the man. "Namely pharmaceuticals. Now, would you like to give us your name, or do we just call you Subject 86?"

"You have eighty-five others here?"

"Had. We had eighty-five. Unfortunately some of them expired, either because they couldn't or wouldn't cooperate. Sadly, we had no idea the procedures and the compounds we injected them with would be fatal. Now, would you care to tell us what we shouldn't do to you or give you, or…"

"Aspirin," Doc said, hearts-rate suddenly going into overdrive. "For starters."

"Good, good, a little cooperation! Now, what do we call you?"

"You call me John. John Ten Smith Harkness. Please, just listen to me. You have to let me go. I'm trying really very properly to warn you. It won't go well for any of you if you don't let me go. Just…let me go, and I'll do what I can to protect you. I promise."

"Protect us? From what?"

"Sorry, that's classified."

The man smirked skeptically. "Whatever," he said. "Now, I'm going to send in some paperwork. I take it with your grasp of English, you can write. Please list any and all medications you shouldn't be subjected to."

"That's easy," Doc said angrily. "All of them! You don't have the right—"

"We've been through this. You have no rights; we hold all the cards. Maybe you'll feel more cooperative once we've done some initial tests. Please be seated in the chair."

"Piss off!"

The man sighed. "Very well," he said. He pressed a button on a nearby wall and spoke into it. "Looks like we're going to have to restrain him. He's quite strong, so send in four or five. The strongest ones."

The first of the double doors hissed as it slid open, admitting a half-dozen sturdily built attendants, including his kidnappers. He backed into a corner as the second door admitted the men and they began to close in on him.

One of them held out a hospital gown. "Disrobe and put this on," he said quietly but firmly. Like the others he was a big, muscular man. He had a neatly trimmed beard and deep brown eyes. Something in his eyes looked to Doc like the man didn't exactly like what he was doing. Doc held his gaze for a few seconds and the man looked away, clearing his throat and mumbling, "Sorry, mate."

The man outside, apparently the one in charge, spoke, using the built in speaker. "Please do as you're asked. If you won't disrobe, I'll have them restrain you and cut off your clothing. Now, you just be a nice little alien and cooperate."

Anger flared in Doc's heart. But he needed to keep his head. He looked at the man with the kind eyes. "You," he said. "You can come closer and I'll do as you ask. The others can just back away."

The men looked over their shoulders at their boss. He nodded. The man with the kind eyes stepped forward with the gown as the others stepped back a few paces.

"Like I say," the man with the kind eyes said, "Sorry."

Doc just nodded and slipped off his coat. He hung it on a nearby hook, then shucked out of his jacket. "You seem like a nice enough fellow," Doc said quietly. "I don't know how you fell in with this lot."

"It's the economy. I have a wife and kids. Call me Frank."

"Doc," he said, stopping long enough to shake hands. "Call me Doc." He draped his tie and shirt on a second hook and continued disrobing. Frank averted his eyes when the last item, his boxer briefs, came off. Frank held out the gown and Doc put it on.

"If I were you I'd just sit in the chair and try to cooperate. I don't want to…" he finished lamely.

Doc gave him his most charming smile. "Then I won't make you," he said and coolly walked past the rest to sit in the chair. Make a friend. Get someone on your side. Step one initiated.

Now, seated in the chair, he reluctantly sat still while Frank drew a few vials of blood, did a swab on the inside of his mouth and took samples of hair and nails and even a scraping of skin. He had refused to allow any of the others near him, but submitted to Frank's ministrations, the better to drive a wedge between Frank and his co-workers. Glancing at the others, he could tell it was already working from the 'what's so special about Frank' looks on their faces.

"I'm afraid that's all I can do," Frank told him, avoiding Doc's eyes. "Doctor Lesley will be doing the more advanced work. You'll need to fill out your paperwork. Soon as that's done Lesley will do whatever it is he's got plans for. After that I'll bring you something to drink, maybe a bite to eat, if you're hungry. If you need a blanket or anything just let me know. I'll try to make you as comfy as I can."

"Why are you in with this lot?" Doc asked in a near whisper. "You seem like the decent sort. It's more than just the money, isn't it?"

Under the guise of taking a swab of the inside of Doc's ear, Frank whispered. "My daughter. Brain damage from a road accident. Lesley says he can help her if we find what we need from your… Sorry, from you lot. Aliens. Maybe something in your chemistry, or maybe one of you has the technical knowledge. Ellie, she's in a vegetative state. Nothing else to do for her, unless we can find something new."

"And the others? Is that how he keeps them on a leash? Emotional blackmail?"

"Some of them. Some are fresh out of prison, can't find anyone to hire them, and the money is good. Look, maybe we can chat a bit later, they don't like the two of us getting chatty. I really am sorry…" He handed Doc a clipboard and a felt-tip pen, the latter obviously so it couldn't be used as a weapon. "I'm afraid your clothing will be looked at and anything they find will be locked away and examined. Hope you don't have anything that's important to you. Or dangerous for you to have."

"What about this?" Doc's hand went to his throat, touching the key-shaped crystal love stamp Jack had given him. "My husband gave it to me. It's harmless."

"Sorry, mate, you'll have to ask Lesley. Look, just…be nice. Cooperate. Maybe he'll let you keep it."

"I'll try. No promises," Doc said. "And Frank? Thanks. For, you know, not being a complete bastard. And yeah, I would like to chat later on, if we can."

"I'll do my best," Frank said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

As he walked towards the others, Doc could hear them saying to Frank "Took a shine to you, didn't he?" and "Friendly with the little green man, are you, Frank?" and "What was that all about, getting cozy with the weirdo?" And Doc heard Frank shoot back with a "Just leave it, yeah? Just because they're our prisoners doesn't mean we have to be so hard on them, does it?"

Doc uncapped his pen and began filling out his paperwork. He was their prisoner. They were going to be doing Rassilon knows what to him. He would figure out a way to get help, somehow. Until then, he needed to keep his head, try to avoid sedation… Best to cooperate.


	5. Milk Run part 2

A/N ATT anonymous reviewer  
>Doc (Guest)<p>

Had you read the entire story arc you would know his name is Doc because **he is NOT The Doctor or even the Doc. His name was given to him by Jack. The Doctor is now his "brother". A completely separate person. There can only be one Doctor. **

Milk Run – part 2

Three hours after Doc stormed out Jack started to get pissed off. He could completely understand why his husband had stomped out, but to stay out this long in the middle of the night was a bit much.

Six hours after Doc stormed out Jack was furious. How Dare Doc worry him like this?

Twelve hours after Doc stormed out Jack had forgotten anger and now felt consumed with guilt and fear. He should have gotten the damned milk. He _knew _Doc was a trouble magnet. How could he have let this happen? He should have been back by now.

Twenty-four hours later and Jack, now worried sick, started frantically searching for clues, as of yet to no avail.

Two days after Doc stormed out he was still consumed with guilt and fear—that and something else. Something, which had never crossed his mind, though it damned well, should have.

It started with nausea, and then body cramps set in. Headache, the shakes, the symptoms went on and on. He couldn't think straight and his worry made that little setback all the worse. Martha didn't even have to twist his arm to get him into the med bay, he felt so bad.

"How am I supposed to look for him when I'm like this?" he said to Martha.

"Any idea what's causing this?" She laid a cool cloth on his forehead.

"Yeah," he said, his teeth chattering now. "He doesn't even know this so if…no, _when, _when we get him back…not a word. Understand?"

"Jack, you really shouldn't keep secrets; not from your husband," she said, frowning.

"It's just…he feels so guilty for so much already."

"Jack," Martha said firmly. "You have to tell him. He's your husband, your life mate. You have to tell him, whatever it is."

"I suppose you're right," Jack said. She shivered violently. Martha put another blanket on him, tucking it in an oddly maternal fashion. "I…I'm addicted to him. It's those secretions, when we kiss and, well, other things. I suspected it was. It feels almost like getting high. And it, well, I never thought anything would ramp up my libido, but it does. He's the only lover I've ever had that can actually wear me out. So I kind of knew. I just didn't want to risk him knowing about it to make him feel responsible. Not like he does it on purpose."

"Do you think it's the same for him?

"He never said it's addictive for Time Lords. I think he would have told me if it was, he's been so open and honest with me about everything."

Martha snorted. "Well, that's a first," Martha quirked an ironic little grin. "I guess when he finally gave himself to someone, he gave everything. And all for you, Jack. That's why you owe him total honesty."

"I hope he understands," Jack said with a small, sad sound from deep in his chest. "Martha, I love him so fucking much! I've loved him so fucking much for so fucking long it's like breathing. I don't know how to not love him."

I know, but if he finds out you've been keeping this from him to spare him, he'll feel even more guilty. Especially when he finds out how sick it's making you. And he _will _find out. You know he will."

"I'll have to worry about it later," Jack said. "We have to find him. Something horrible has happened. He would never stay gone this long on purpose, not since our bond became so strong. Not since we married."

"Have you contacted the Doctor?

"Tried to, can't locate him. Something has him tied up. Something big. He's never ignored a call from his brother-in-law. He's nuts about his little brother, and he loves me, too. So no help from the Doctor, I'm afraid."

"Then like it or not, we're going to have to ask for help," Martha nodded.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Frank was there to look to his needs it wasn't so bad as it was when the others were there: most if them took special pleasure in making things difficult for him. Some were worse than others. Some were detached. There were maybe two others that seemed to be gravitating towards Frank's camp. Doc had begun to think of them as "Friendlies". But they couldn't be at the facility all the time. And when they weren't it could get really bad. Like…well, like about right now.

He suspected something was in the air when one, called Lenny and whom Doc thought of as Lenny the Lout brought his morning meal of cold cereal, a thing he despised. And Lenny knew he despised it. Frank always brought him some nice scrambled eggs and a banana cut up in little pieces so he could mix them with his eggs. When Lenny brought in the vile cold cereal he gave Doc a look. A very specific look. A smirk, and a leer that had disdain written all over it.

When Lenny the Lout wheeled in a table laden with instruments Doc knew right away what he was bout to be put through. He berated himself for lying to himself about it. Because when he'd asked Lesley if he could keep his love stamp, that it was a gift from his husband, Doc had seen Lesley's expression change almost imperceptibly. Lesley had agreed. And he held the pendant over Doc's head like a carrot on a stick dangled before a reluctant donkey.

Doc had balked one day over giving a fecal sample and Lesley had taken the pendant for three days during which Doc had been so upset he couldn't eat. Lesley had finally returned the love stamp. But when he did, the look in his eye spoke of subtle victory.

So Doc really should have known this was coming. But he had deliberately refused to think of it in his usual contrary way.

That is until today. Because the table held one particular instrument Doc recognized as a speculum. And some of the other instruments didn't exactly comfort him either. He shivered, watching Lenny attach stirrups to the gurney.

XXXXXXXXXX

As loathe as Jack felt to do it had had relented to Martha's insistence that UNIT be contacted. And what ray of sunshine did they put in charge? Colonel Alexander Mitchell, that's who. The one that Doc had gotten off to a bad start with. The one who muttered "little monkey" behind Doc's back, not even bothering to hide a broad grin.

But with his withdrawals Jack had little choice. Unable to hold food down he had rapidly started shedding weight. Made things all the worse when Mitchell himself came to question Jack and his team in an effort to put together enough intel to begin.

Now Mitchell wanted to talk to Jack, and the Captain had dragged himself out of bed and into the conference room.

"Harkness," nodded Mitchell. "You look like bloody hell."

"I'm fine, just a little under the weather," Jack said, clipping his words.

"The hell you are. Look, I'm not getting much information from your team in regards to Doctor Smith-Harkness. Care to let me in on the secret?"

Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to come up with a satisfactory answer.

"Look, Captain, you might as well tell me. I'm with UNIT, after all. Like it or not we have been monitoring the situation. We aren't sure where he came from or who he is, but we do know he's no ordinary man. He's an exact duplicate of the tenth regeneration of the Doctor. If I'm to help you, you've got to help me do it. I assure you, we mean him no harm. If we wanted to question him we would have taken him in by now. And besides, I sort of like the scrappy little monkey."

"Don't call him that," Jack said, his head snapping up in anger.

"Why not? I used to call my son that."

"What?"

"My son," Mitchell said. He cleared his throat. "He died at Canary Wharf that day. He was full of piss and vinegar. Like your husband. I'm assuming he is your husband since you share a last name. You never said."

"Yeah, he is," Jack said. "Sorry about your son." Jack scratched his head. "If you like him, why the monkey comments? You know he hates that."

Mitchell just smiled sadly. "So did my son. Now, are you going to let me in on this secret of yours?"

Jack sighed. What choice did he have? Mitchell was right. They really could have taken Doc in for questioning. For whatever reason, they hadn't. They had left it up to him to keep the situation in hand in regards to a stranger who was the very image of a former regeneration of the Doctor.

"Look," Mitchell added. "If it makes it any easier, the Doctor asked us to leave the two of you to yourselves. He isn't always right, but we do trust him."

"Did he?" asked Jack, adding "Okay, I'm cornered. When he regenerated last time the TARDIS did something. She kept a copy, so to speak. He's earthbound, and it hasn't been easy on him."

"And he's fully a Time Lord?"

"Fully."

"Then we'd better find him quick."

Before Jack could reply, his phone rang. It was Gwen, who had been confined to working only within the Hub since her pregnancy.

"Found something on cctv," she said. "Andy sent it, he was investigating a purse snatching and saw it. Jack, he's been kidnapped."


	6. Milk Run part 3

Lesley hadn't even warmed the speculum. Doc lay on the gurney, legs in the air, feet in the stirrups. He blushed furiously, staring at the ceiling. "Why are you doing this?" he asked Lesley.

"Several reasons," Lesley said. "For one reason, you seem to be pretty much squeaky clean inside. Hardly any bactrium at all. And then you said you have a husband. Basically I'm looking into your abilities to reproduce. I want to know if you can be impregnated by a human male. I think that's why you're so clean inside."

"You could have just asked," Doc snapped. He gripped the love stamp in his fist. It brought him comfort, feeling the warmth it generated, hearing in his head the voice of his husband speaking words of love.

"And you could have lied," Lesley said coldly. Doc felt a sharp, swift pain, a deep stinging in one of his talas, followed by more in other talas. Taking samples, then.

"Since your looking," Doc said, "I think you'll find I'm not able to be impregnated, but suit yourself. You're wasting time and resources. I suppose I should feel happy about that."

Doc turned his face to one side. Lenny the Lout was standing there, arms crossed, a filthy smirk on his face. Doc found himself wishing fervently it had been Frank or one of the other friendlies. He didn't care for the look in Lenny's eyes, not one bit. The hairs on his arms and legs rose with the chill of fear. Because Lenny was practically drooling.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack had spilled everything to Mitchell. And truth be told, he felt a great deal of relief. UNIT was well aware of his Lazarus powers, so Jack had even confessed to killing himself in an effort to cure himself of withdrawals. It worked for a bit, but then the withdrawals returned.

"That should tell you something, Harkness," Mitchell said. "He's part of what you are now. Almost like the two of you are integrated."

"We are," Jack said. "I have to find him. Not just for myself. Gods only knows what his kidnappers want with him or what they could do with his genetic material. It could change history. Not to mention what it's doing to him. He's such a free spirit. It's bad enough he's earth-bound. But thinking of him as a prisoner..."

"We'll do whatever it takes to find him," Mitchell said, surprising Jack with a friendly squeeze to his shoulder. "You needn't look so surprised, Captain. He may not be the Doctor, but he is an aspect of the Doctor, and we owe that man a debt we can never really repay." He gave Jack a wink. "Besides, I like the little monkey. My visits here wouldn't be the same without him glaring at me."

XXXXXXXXXX

Frank knew when he saw Doc that things had not been pleasant. When he brought Doc's evening meal into the room Doc had hardly reacted. He just lay curled up on his cot, clutching his precious pendant. Frank picked up the chart at the foot of Doc's cot and glanced over the day's activities and who had been assigned to Doc that day. He frowned. The image of his daughter flashed through his mind. Frank suddenly felt a deep sense of shame. Had his daughter been suddenly cured, what would she think of his part in this man's captivity and humiliation? What could he do? He was no one, and no one would listen to him. He gently placed a hand on Doc's shoulder. "I'm sorry, mate. I don't know what I can do to make things easier, but I'm sorry, and if you can think of something I can do to help, let me know."

Doc looked at him for what seemed an eternity as if he were weighing options. "If I asked you to help me you could pay a steep price," Doc said. "Would these people harm you or your family? I can't have that on my conscience."

"Don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind," Frank said, brow furrowed. "Thing is, if it isn't helping you, sooner or later it'll be something else. I can't sell my soul, Doc. I just can't. What would my daughter think? So if you come up with a plan, you need to let me know. My mates and me, Danny and Mike, we've just about had enough of this lot. We've talked it over. You just say the word."

XXXXXXXXXX

So it was the stirrups and the speculum again and Doc knew it was going to be horrible. At least this time Frank was here. Unfortunately so was Lenny the Lout.

"Just try to relax," Lesley said. "This won't hurt a bit."

"What are you doing now?" Doc said. He could hear panic in his own voice, as if he were listening to someone else.

"The biopsies we did on those little organs show they're packed with nerve endings, I'm guessing for pleasure. Which means you're meant to be penetrated. Which leads me to believe that in spite of your assertions, you can be impregnated. Lenny here has graciously donated his sperm. We're just going to try artificial insemination.

Doc gasped. Frank took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It won't work," Doc spat. "I told you, I can't be impregnated. Why would I lie?"

"Simple," Lesley said, his voice as flat and cold as sheet ice. "You don't want to give birth unless it's your choice. But you no longer have a choice. I've decided to give this a try and there's really nothing you can do about it. So why not just...lie there and think of England. Or wherever your from. Pretend it's your husband's sperm if it makes it any easier."

Doc turned his head then, his cheeks red with shame, his eyes filled with hurt. Frank looked into his eyes; squeezed his hand again. With his free hand Doc clutched the crystal pendant as if it gave him strength and comfort.

Lesley finished injecting Lenny's sperm inside Doc and patted his leg as if to comfort him. And at that moment Frank hated him for it. Lesley peeled off his latex gloves and exited the room. Lenny, however, chose to linger.

"Well, he said, smirking at both Doc and Frank. "Let's hope it doesn't take." He grinned wickedly. "Because if it doesn't, the next step is...how should I put it?" He laughed to himself. "Let's just say a direct deposit. But the fun doesn't stop there. If I can't get him knocked up we're going to take him to the love shack." Lenny laughed again before sauntering out.

Doc looked into Frank's eyes. "What is the love shack?" he asked, and there was no denying the terror in in his face.

Frank swallowed hard. He had t tell the truth. Frank didn't bother to ask himself why he had taken such a liking to this alien except that he seemed so harmless, even charming. But for whatever reason, something about him tugged at Frank's heartstrings. He bit his lip. He felt his heart shrink at having to tell Doc what might be in store for him. "The love shack is where we keep this one alien. They live in the sewers. Ugly things, big fangs. This one has a penchant for sexual assault. They use him to experiment on other aliens. And they use him to punish the uncooperative."

Frank watched as a tear slipped from one of Doc's big brown eyes. He placed a hand along Doc's cheek, about to wipe the tear from his face with is thumb.

That's when he felt it: a storm of information in his mind. In his terror, the alien had obviously telepathically connected with Frank, and he felt in his heart this could not have happened without a degree of trust.

Mind made up, Frank knew what he had to do. He knew because Doc had spelled it out in no uncertain terms.

This was going to stop. And Frank was the one that was going to stop it.


	7. Milk Run part 4

author's note: If you haven't read ll the stories in this arc some things just won't make much sense. The first is Need: Whispers Like Prayers, followed by Broken Angels, then on to Home: The House That Jack Built, bringing you to Growing Pains. I hope you enjoy them, and apologies for taking so long to update. RL gets in the way sometimes.

Milk Run part 4

Lenny had never wished so much he was allowed to use an MP3 player, or earplugs for that matter. The skinny little alien bastard had been at it for days now, and ever since he had started this...this insanity he had to be watched every second, by Lesley's orders. Lenny gritted his teeth as Doc belted it out for the hundredth time today.

_"I am the very model of a modern Major-General_

_I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral_

_I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical_

_From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical_

_I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical_

_I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical_

_About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news...a LOT of news..._

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_I'm very good at integral and differential calculus_

_I know the scientific names of beings animalculous_

_In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral_

_I am the very model of a modern Major-General..."_

Nothing had stopped him. Not taking away the pendant, not threats, not withholding food or drink, nothing. Ever since Frank had taken a couple of days off he had been at it, morning, noon and night, over and over and over and over...

A deep breath, and Doc started again.

_"I am the very model of a modern Major-General_

_I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral_

_I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical_

_From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical..."_

Even during tests he went on and on. No matter what, even when he was on the table, legs in stirrups while Lesly injected sperm into him, he never stopped.

_"I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical_

_I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical_

_About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news...a LOT of news..._

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse..."_

The only time he was quiet was when Frank, Danny or Mike was on call. And all of them were off now.

_"With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse"_

Lenny gritted his teeth. He had never liked Frank and his buddies. But he had never wished for them to appear so much in the entirety of his employe here.

XXXXXXXXXX

Frank could recall the messages which had flashed into his mind like hot quicksilver as Doc had held his hand. He could recall those unusual brown eyes, eyes filled with stardust and sorrow. He'd managed to accomplish one task: nipping undetected into the records room while the secretary was at the water-cooler goofing off. All he had to do was search for the date Doc had arrived and all his intake info was there, including the location of his kidnapping.

Which is why he was in the unusual situation of pacing the sidewalk in view of the cctv camera, holding a small sign with one word printed in bold script: DOC.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lenny had had enough. To hell with Lesley's order's. He was going to shut the skinny little bastard up one way or another. He had bound Doc's hands behind him with a roll of gauze and pushed him impatiently towards the compound.

_"I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical_

_I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical_

_About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news...a LOT of news..._

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse..."_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse..."_

But the song died on Doc's lips when he read the sign someone had stuck on the wall next to the cage. It read 'The Love Shack'. And inside was the biggest Weevil Doc had ever seen. The creature was naked. Doc knew they customarily wore clothing so as to be able to blend in from a distance. He wasn't sure if they wore clothing on their home world, but the thought fled as he saw the scars that covered the Weevil from head to foot.

Lenny shoved Doc against the bars. The Weevil pounced forward, slipped his hands through the bars and grabbed Doc's head. Doc knew these creatures were telepathically sensitive and didn't waste a second. He gave a little push and entered the Weevil's mind._ 'I know they hurt you. I can see that. And now I'm in your mind I see they've done it for a long time. I promise, I'm not like them. You don't have to dominate me or anyone else anymore. That's what the sexual assaults are, aren't they? That's you trying to make everyone just leave you alone. But I'm going to help you. Promise. I'm going to get you out of here. No more beatings. I'll save you, and no one will hurt you ever again. And you won't ever feel like you have to hurt anyone anymore. Understand?'_

The huge Weevil shocked Lenny by gently stroking Doc's face, making a soft chirring sound in his throat. And then he went down on his knees and bowed as if before royalty.

"What the hell?" Lenny growled. "You did something to him, didn't you? What the hell did you do, you little fuck?" He grabbed Doc around the throat and pushed his back against the bars of the cage. "Tell me!"

_"I am the very model of a modern Major-General_

_I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral_

_I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical_

_From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical..."_

"Shut up! Shut up, you little fuck or I'll..."

He didn't get the chance to finish. The Weevil reached through the bars again, this tine grabbing Lenny's arms pulled him so hard that Lenny's head struck the bars. The Weevil let go and Lenny sank to the floor, shaking his head to clear it.

There was the sound of rushed footsteps. Lenny looked up. It was Lesley, along with a pair of attendants, and he did not look pleased.

Doc saw the Weevil back into a corner of its cage, crouch down, as if to make himself appear small, innocuous.

"Good thing we just happened to come along on our rounds just now, don't you think, Lenny?" Lesley said, his face dark with anger.

"Yuh-yes sir," Lenny stammered, shaking his head some more. That had been one hell of a wallop.

"And you, Doc," Lesley said. "Consider yourself lucky. I don't know exactly why the creature didn't at least bite you. But if I had to hazard a guess, seeing as that thing is always ready for sex, I'd say that perhaps you might just be coming into your breeding season. Like a bitch, and the creature senses it." He turned to his attendants. They nodded silently.

He stepped closer to Doc. "Why don't you just admit it?" Lesley asked, clearly believing he was right. "You can be impregnated. Just tell me. Why not unburden yourself?"

_"I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical_

_I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical_

_About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news...a LOT of news..._

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse..."_

"Oh, for God's sake!" Lesley said. "What is it going to take to shut you up? We could tranquilize you, but you'd just start back up again as soon as you woke up and we both know it."

_"With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse_

_I'm very good at integral and differential calculus_

_I know the scientific names of beings animalculous_

_In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral_

_I am the very model of a modern Major-General..."_

"A deal then?" Lesley said. If this nonsense had pushed Lesley himself to desperation heaven only knew what it had done to his workers. "Can we strike a bargain? This loudly enough to be heard over Doc's singing.

"I want my pendant. I want my clothes, I'm sick of being leered at. Some of your workers fancy me, and not in a nice way. And I want my shoes. In other words, a little dignity."

"You understand you'll have to disrobe daily, don't you?"

"I'm not stupid. Of course I know. But at least I can have my own clothing to put on afterwards."

"Very well," Lesley conceded. "We didn't find anything in your pockets anyway, and the pendant seems harmless enough. Stop the singing and you get what you ask."

"Give me what I ask and I'll stop the singing," Doc sneered._ "I am the very model of-"_

"Do as he asks!" Lesley yelled at Lenny. Lenny scrambled to his feet and turned to go.

"I want to go back to my room now," Doc said.

"Did you hear, Lenny?" Lesley called after Lenny, who had begun pacing down the hallway. "Yes, sir. I'll bring everything to his room."

Without another word, Doc began walking back to his room, not even waiting to have his wrists unbound. Inwardly he grinned like a maniac. Funny thing about temporally transcendental pockets. Unless you knew they were temporally transcendental, they just felt like empty pockets.


	8. Milk Run Part 5

"Martha, I think you should help Jack get up here," Gwen said. She'd been checking out CCTV footage in desperation, hoping against hope to catch a glimpse of Doc, or some clue as to his fate when she saw a rather large man with a neatly trimmed beard pacing the sidewalk and glancing straight into the CCTV camera. He carried a sign bearing one word: Doc.

Once Jack and made it to the monitor his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He still looked horrible, but ill as he was, his face brightened so much the faces of his team lit up right along with his own. He dug in his pocket for his phone.

"Don't bother," Ianto said, settling a hand on Jack's thin shoulder. "I'm calling UNIT right now. Mitchell is going to want to talk to this guy."

"Soon as you're done, go and pick him up," Jack said. "I'm pretty sure that's what he's trying to do, get someone to come and get him."

XXXXXXXXXX

Doc grinned. Good old Janis Joplin. He loved that coat. He recalled standing around a bonfire with Janis and a few friends. He had just been chatting with her. She had been having a bad time of it and was just about ready to throw in the towel, but he had convinced her not to, telling her that her talent was too great to not share, if not for herself...then keep going, keep trying. Do it for the love of music. Do it for the world. His words had cheered her so much that she had given him his beloved coat. With the help of the TARDIS the pockets had been made temporally transcendental.

He was just getting down from the table and before taking off his hospital gown, he gave Lenny a glare. "Turn your back while I get dressed, you," he snarled. "I don't like how you look at me. Do it! Or do I need to take it up with Lesley by way of song? How'd you like to listen to 'Fish Heads' for two or three days?"

Lenny glared, but turned his back. Doc quickly dressed, then fished into his pocket, finding the desired item: the GPS bracelet Jack had given him when he was still broken. He switched it on, grinning even more widely.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Frank had received the telepathic flash from Doc he had gotten enough info to go on, but no great amount of detail. Which is why he sat with his mouth agape at the goings-on. Like everyone else in Cardiff he had heard speculation and rumors of an organization called Torchwood but hadn't given it much thought. Possible but unlikely had been his opinion at the time.

Well, those thoughts had certainly been reassessed. Torchwood was real, all right. The first show of this had been the young man that had approached him after speedily parking a big, black SUV. The young man, his stride vigorous and with an air of authority, had flashed an ID at him with an "Ianto Jones. Torchwood. You know where we can find Doc, don't you?"

"I do, yeah," Frank had replied. "You have to help him. You have to help all of them. They've been collecting them, experimenting on them."

"Aliens, you mean?"

"Yeah. Aliens. Proper outer space type aliens."

"Come with me, please," Ianto had nodded at the SUV. "You can fill us in back at HQ."

XXXXXXXXXX

As a sort of award and, truth be known, just to keep his mind occupied and therefore keep him out of trouble, Lesley had provided a sketch book along with pencils so Doc would have something to do to keep him out of trouble. There was, of course, an ulterior motive: perhaps Doc would sketch something that would reveal something of himself. Lesley had hoped he would do some landscapes of his home-world.

Like clockwork, Doc heard the cart holding his evening meal roll closer. He wasn't really hungry, but the meal would break up the boredom. As well, he may need his strength later on if all went as he hoped. He raised a brow in slight surprise as the cart was rolled in, not by the customary attendant, but by Lesley himself. He feigned disinterest as Lesley rolled the cart closer and placed the tray of food on the small table by Doc's cot. Lesley lifted the cover off the dish with a slight flourish, revealing a perfectly turned steak and a small lobster, a salad on the side along with something Lesley had learned the alien had a real weakness for: a banana.

Doc set aside his sketchbook and pulled the plate closer. "Well, isn't this an impressive spread," Doc said archly. "What's all this, then? You going to ask me out on a date?"

Lesly gave a half-amused grunt. "Do you mind?" he asked, indicating the sketch pad.

Doc gave a noncommittal shrug. "Help yourself," he said, smiling inwardly. He knew Lesley had hoped that he would reveal something of himself in his sketches. Which he had, quite consciously. Just not the way Lesley had wanted him to.

Lesley leafed though the sketchbook. "These are all of the same subject," he grunted.

"You noticed!" Doc took a sizable bite of lobster.

"The same man. Over and over, the same man," Lesley squinted. "Is this man your husband?"

Doc nodded, chewing the lobster, which was quite good. "Jack," he added. "That's my Jack."

"As in Captain Jack Harkness? Of Torchwood? _That _Jack?"

"Even so," Doc smirked. "The one and only. Handsome, isn't he, my Jack?"

"You're lying," Lesley said. "This man hunts aliens. He would never marry one."

"Yes, he does hunt aliens. He hunted me for 140 years. He was in love with me." Doc grinned, popped a slice of juicy steak into his mouth. "Cows," he observed. "Until the spread of the Great and Bountiful Human Empire you could only find cows on earth. They're still rare anywhere but earth in any timeline. Seems they don't do well off-world. Bloody inconvenient when you like milk in your tea, like I do."

"What the hell are you babbling about?"

"I was just out after milk, you know. For my tea. Jack kept forgetting it. And I got angry. Went out alone in the middle of the night like an idiot. Just for milk for my tea. And your people kidnapped me. Can you imagine how Jack is going to take this? His husband pops out for a bit of milk and you kidnap him. Experiment on him. Try to inseminate him. You try to inseminate the husband of bloody Captain bloody Jack bloody Harkness. Who does all the inseminating me that's to be done. Do you imagine he's going to be at all understanding?"

"All very intimidating I'm sure," Lesley said. "But for the fact he doesn't know where you are. If he did he would already have been here, I'm sure. Perhaps he doesn't care for you as much as you think."

"All this time keeping me here and there's so much you could have learned if only you'd gone through proper channels." Doc said

"Proper channels? What the-"

"Oh, you know," Doc said with a smirk, spearing a bit of lobster. "The usual places where aliens are concerned. Unit, Torchwood. Her Majesty knows me quite well. Even that LINDA lot could have told you more than you know now, and they're a bit rubbish."

"What the hell are you-"

"ˋCourse the real question is, why the fancy meal? What, did you just have it lying round? Nah! I know the place this comes from, you had it special ordered. Jack takes me there often. Oddly enough this is what I usually order. No, you ordered this to impress me, given that what you've served since I've been here has been terrible. You want to butter me up."

"No such thing!" Lesley snapped.

"Oh, but you do. All this time you've held my being raped by Lenny over my head. And oh, Lenny isn't going to like this. D'you know, Lenny, that hasn't been your sperm he's been implanting me with? See, to Lesley, you're inferior. Not genetically worthy of impregnating me. You see, as an alien, my sense of smell is very acute. He never intended to let you have me, Lenny. He's been using his own sperm. I could smell it. To Lesley, you're no more than an animal here, a trained brute, here to do his bidding. To intimidate me. That worked out well, didn't it?"

"What!?" Lenny shouted, scowling at Lesley.

"It's true and you know it," Doc smirked. "Which means all the little niceties, the sketch book, giving me clothes, this meal...all meant to make me more compliant. More accommodating to the boss. You were never going to get to have me. No, that's something Lesley wants only for himself. Because he figures that with his genes, his intelligence, mixed with mine, he could produce a new race. One meant to dominate the entire planet. Isn't that right, Lesley?"

"That's a lie," Lesley spat. "Lenny don't-"

"I think you should shut it now, Lesley," growled Lenny. "Before I shut it myself. I'm not the smartest bloke on earth but I'm smart enough to know the truth when I hear it.

"Good, good!" Doc beamed at him. "Now be even smarter and go wait in the office."

"What the hell do you mean by that? And since when do you give orders around here?"

"Go wait in the office with Lenny and you'll find out." Doc grinned, finishing off his meal with a fork full of both shrimp and lobster.

Lenny glared at Lesley, then stormed out of the room.

Obviously Lesley was nowhere near as intelligent as he thought, as he stayed behind, locking the door.

XXXXXXXXXX

Frank's mind boggled as a pterodactyl flew overhead, screeching. Jack, ear pressed to his phone, looked up at her. "It's okay," Jack told Frank. "She won't harm you. But she's grown very fond of Doc and she's been getting very agitated at his absence. Now she senses something is up. Don't get too friendly, though, she might smell him on you. That could make her...unhappy. Mitchell! Listen, we have his whereabouts. Somehow he turned on his GPS. Texting you location now, I'll be there, just give me a few minutes. I need to kill myself to get my strength up. Once we're back together I know I'll begin to heal from this. We have the informant. Keeping him here for his own safety."

"Hell you are, I know exactly where his cell is and I want to see the look on Lesley's face when he sees me!" Frank protested.

"Gwen, you stay here and look after Frank," Jack said. "Ianto, fresh clothes, please." Jack removed his coat.

It wasn't until Frank saw him raise the Webley to his temple that it sunk in that Jack had said he had to, what? Kill himself to get his strength back? A shot rang out and Harkness sank to the floor.

"He'll be fine," Gwen said, stroking her very obvious baby bump. "He does that."

What kind of insane asylum had he got himself involved with, Frank wondered. But in less than a minute Harkness gasped, sat up...and looked as healthy as a horse. Wordlessly Jack stripped as the man Ianto brought clean clothes and a basin of soap and water as if he did this sort of thing all the time.

"Martha, Ianto, with me," Jack commanded. And just that quick, they were gone.

"The fuck!" Frank exclaimed, a bewildered look on his face.

Gwen shrugged. "You get used to it," she said enigmatically.


	9. Milk Run - part 6

Just as Frank thought he was to be left behind, Jack ran back into the hub.

"You can get us in. Get the security to let their guard down, right?"

"Well I have all the IDs and clearances, yeah,"

"Well come on, what are you waiting for?"

A/N - again, if you haven't read Home: The House That Jack Built this isn't going to make much sense and you won't understand why he isn't "the Doctor" but "Doc" now.

* * *

><p>Once in the SUV they sped back to the street where Frank had been spotted: they would need his car so as to not raise any eyebrows. Ianto hid in the back seat.<p>

"What about you?" asked Frank.

Jack gave him an enigmatic smile and dug a long loop of twine with a key attached to it out of his pocket. He slipped it around his neck. At once something very strange happened for Frank. Jack wasn't exactly invisible, but it seemed Frank's eyes refused to acknowledge the man's existence."Perception filter," said Jack. "A gift to me from Doc. Never leave home without it." 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Lesley turned, dropping his key card into his lab coat pocket. He approached Doc with small, soft steps, as though to not frighten a small caged animal. He stood over Doc for a handful of moments, a soft smile on his lips. "Could be that's why," he said, hands in his lab coat pockets.

"Why what?"

"Why I want you." Lesley sat on the cot, careful to position himself not too close, yet not too far. "Your intelligence. I've never been attracted to men. But I've seen many attractive men before and they never made me feel like this. Has to be to be your intelligence."

"I'm flattered, Lesley," said Doc, gazing at his captor from under his long, thick lashes...which he fluttered like a somewhat confused virgin.

"That mind of yours," Lesley edged closer as he spoke. "How I would like to know more of how it works." Lesley, encouraged by a ghost of a smile from Doc, slid a tad closer. "And really, you are quite attractive. That mind of yours paired with your face; your body. And you aren't human. Forbidden fruit."

"And I never knew," Doc replied, his voice now softer and lower in pitch. "You're a bit kinky, aren't you? And you know, for me having sex with my Jack is a bit kinky. Because he's human, you see. My people would see it very much like yours do bestiality."

"Please,"whispered Lesley, his body giving a shudder. "Can't we at least try? If you will I'll let you phone your Jack. Not long enough for a trace, but at least you can let him know you're being well cared for."

"Now that's an offer I might just consider," said Doc, drawing a leg up onto the cot, bent at the knee at just the right angle to draw his trousers tight around a perky buttock.

"Those little organs inside you and in your mouth and throat," Lesley again whispered, this time his voice tremulous. "They're for pleasure, like I guessed. Am I right? Please, please tell me. Because if they are, I promise I'll make it so, so good for you."

Doc cocked his head and lowered his eyelashes. There was surrender there, Lesley just knew it. "If I do," he said, "you have to let me suck you off. That's why those organs are in my mouth and throat, you see. So I can come like that. I can even come from just being kissed properly."

Lesley climbed onto the cot on hands and knees. His head spun at the idea of this: he could make this beautiful little caged bird of his come by fucking that mouth. That mouth with its inviting full bottom lip. "May I?' He knew his words came out a wheedle, yet the fire inside him burned away just that little bit of pride. Just a small amount of pride. Was that so bad? To trade off a fraction of pride to claim this so sensual creature?

"And if things work out I get to speak with Jack?"

"Yes," gasped Lesley, his mind filled with scenes of making Doc come with a kiss, then doing it again with his cock. Who knew, maybe he had been injecting his semen in the wrong orifice,

Doc smiled. Eyelashes fluttered again. "Well, as long as you keep up your end of the bargain. If you don't, it stops."

"I swear it," Lesley murmured, and much to his own surprise found he meant it.

"A kiss then," Doc purred. "Just to try it on. One kiss. Make it a good one. Make me want more. There's a reason Jack turns me on. I like to be dominated. I love being taken. He's my Captain. He expects compliance from me. And I demand to be made complaint. So come on. What are you waiting for? One kiss, to see if you've got what it takes." Doc drew his other leg onto the cot, supporting himself with his elbows. He gave that plump lower lip a slow, hungry lick. That had to be an invitation...maybe Doc really did fancy him just a bit. "Come on, then," Doc whispered. "Top me, Lesley. There's nothing I like more. Like I said, my people see this as bestiality. Come on, show me what a beast you are."

"Oh, God help me," Lesley moaned. He climbed on top of Doc, gathered him in his arms, squeezing hard enough to bruise. If Doc wanted to be dominated he would be dominated fully. Grabbing a fistful of the luxuriant hair Lesley brought their mouths together, jamming his tongue hard against those mysterious little organs. He heard Doc murmur something. He broke the kiss long enough to ask what Doc had said.

"You asked God to help you," Doc smiled, the picture of one seduced. "That's good. That's good you did that."

Lesley felt a jab in his neck. The lying little bastard!

"You'll need help," Doc said, and this time the smile wasn't seductive. It was the smile of victory. "You were going to use that tranquilizer on me if I didn't give in. I could smell it when you walked in. And you made it so easy to take it. All for a kiss. You were so turned on you didn't even notice. And for the record," Doc added, a touch of cruelty in his words. "Lousiest kiss ever." With those stinging words in his ears, Lesley's eyes shut and Doc, none too gently, shoved him off. He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. "Right," he snarled. "Before Jack gets here I'd best see to the health of my fellow prisoners."


	10. Milk Run - Part 7

**Author's Notes: Here is where if you haven't read Need: Whispers Like Prayers, Broken Angels and Home: The House That Jack Built, you aren't going to know what's going on. So if you haven't read those yet, you really should. Only one chapter left. There will be cuddles in it, I promise.**

As Frank pulled up to the security gate sweat poured off of him in little rivulets. The guard nodded at him. "Heat wave," he commented. "Bloody awful, innit?"

"Yeah, yeah, it is," Frank said, at a loss for words. He flashed a glance in Jack's direction. Jack sat still as a statue, arms crossed, as though seeming invisible was something he did often. Maybe it was. And God help the other bloke. Ianto? Yes, that was his name. Ianto, hiding under a blanket in this heat.

Frank drove ahead until he rounded a curve. He stopped the car and Jack slipped out. When he returned he nodded at Frank. "Don't worry, your friend has just gone sleepy-bye for a bit. Stun gun. Sorry. I'll have to retcon him later. Cameras are disabled, gate left open. UNIT won't have any problems gaining ground now and they'll be here in seconds. Martha is with Mitchell and he's right behind us. C'mon, let's go."

Frank didn't bother to ask about any of it. He liked Jack and his team- Jack had a knack of engendering trust. Still, there was something somewhat dangerous-seeming about the affable Captain, and Frank had no intentions of pushing the matter. All too easy to figure out. Doc had, after all, referred to having a husband. He drove on to the employee car park and everyone piled out, Ianto mopping his brow and wiping sweat from his eyes with a kerchief as they watched UNIT vehicles pulling in behind them, soldiers pouring out of them like angry wasps from a disturbed nest.

XXXXXXXXXX

Doc stood in the morgue, having opened every drawer, all of which still remained open, a rancid indictment of the horrors committed here. One was just an infant. It lay on the cold table next to its mother. Obviously she knew she had birthed a monster that would never survive and had bitten it in its neck to swiftly end its suffering, and been shot for it. It had been born with two faces, one mostly weevil, the other mostly human. A post mortem had been done on both the infant and the mother. Doc had glanced at both. Going by the internal workings of the mother, none of the infant's internal organs were normal. Some were too big, some too small, some malformed, many in the wrong place.

Doc stared down on them, his hearts leaden in his chest. Had he had an audience, that audience would have crept into a corner in fear and silence, such was the look in his eyes. His hands clenched and unclenched in a mixture of anger and sadness.

He heard footsteps; smelled the identifying scent of Frank and Ianto, and both smelled and sensed Jack. He stood as still and slim as a sapling, unable to tear his eyes away from the horror before him. He heard and felt Jack approach, felt the large, warm hand on his shoulder, let it turn him, let Jack's arms surround him. He both felt and heard Jack's half-gasp, half sob.

His arms, swift and strong, pulled Jack tight. "Jack." he said. His voice thick in his own ears. "Oh, Jack. Knew you'd come. Knew you would." He glanced at Frank. "Knew you'd help me," he said. And Frank could see the gratitude swimming in his misty eyes. "Thank you," he said, voice still thick. "It's people like you that keep me from losing faith in humans. And here's my Eeyore!"

Another set of footsteps. Without looking, Doc knew it was Mitchell, flanked by several UNIT soldiers, and tried not to grimace. Mitchell took in the tables with the dead and vivisected aliens lying on them, so much rubbish in the name of Lesley's research. Doc found the look on Mitchell's face more than a surprise. It could have soured fresh milk.

"My god," Mitchell growled. "This is hell. This is hell for aliens. I'm so sorry. And there will be hell to pay for this, that I swear to you. Thank God you're alive."

Doc felt his brows rise. Didn't Mitchell dislike him?

Mitchell strode across the room and laid a hand on Doc's shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze. "I promise you there will be justice, I promise you," he said. He grinned and gave Doc a wink. "You might be a monkey, but you're our goddamn monkey, and nobody fucks with my monkey." He turned to his men. "Readings are there are other aliens here," he snapped. "Do not harm them. Not even if they put up a fight. It is our job to help them. They'll be taken to headquarters, debriefed and cared for. Until we know what to do with them, they're to be cared for. Understood? Now start searching."

Doc's mouth hung open in surprise. Jack placed a finger under his chin and closed it with a chuckle. "I know," he said. I'll explain later."

"Lesley," Frank said. "Where is he?"

"Locked in my quarters," Doc replied.

Just then two UNIT soldiers escorted Danny and Mike into the room. "There you are." Mike let out a long breath of relief. "When we found your room empty we thought something awful had happened to you."

"Empty? What do you mean, empty? Lesley is locked in there!" Doc stepped forward, eyes gone dark, his face drawn and anxious.

"What happened?" Frank asked.

"He..." Doc sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "He, well, he fancied me. Knew it all along. He had a syringe on him with a sedative all ready to go. He meant to have me, whether I wanted it or not. So I played along. Got the syringe out of his pocket and gave him a poke instead of the other way round. He was out cold as a fish last time I saw him. Thought he'd still be out."

"Must have not been a long-lasting sedative," Frank said. "He must have come out of it and used his card to get out. This is a big place, better let the soldiers know he's on the loose."

"Yeah," Jack snarled. "Because if I find him first he'll never leave here alive."

Doc's head snapped around, his brows lowered. He shook his head. "No, Jack. Not on my account. I don't want his death on my head, even if he is a monster. I don't want his blood on your hands."

"But- "

"I said, no. No, Jack. Let UNIT take care of him. I don't want his blood on either of us. It's bad enough without adding murder to it."

"He deserves to die," Jack growled. "Look at what he's done. Not just to you. God's sake, you're standing in a morgue full of his handiwork."

"So he does," Doc replied. He went to Jack and laid a hand on his cheek. "Many who deserve to die live, and many who deserved to live have died. If you kill him, what makes you any better than him? Just...let UNIT handle it. Yeah? What do you say, eh?"

Jack exhaled and shook his head. "There you go again. Making a better man out of me." He gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

"I'm with him," Mitchell said, nodding at Doc. "No need to dirty your hands with this scum, Captain. Besides, your first concern should be the well-being of your husband, your team and what's left of these poor aliens that have been locked up here and had..." he looked mournfully at the dead mother weevil and her deformed infant. "God only knows what done to them."

"Speaking of which," Doc turned and suddenly gave Jack a charming smile. Jack suspected to make him forget his anger. And damned his beautiful, freckled hide, but it was working. "Just a little walk from here is the biggest weevil you ever saw. He's been terribly abused. Promised him I'd get him out, I did, said I'd make sure he's safe."

"Weevil?" Frank said. "We don't have insects here. Well, unless they're alien."

"That's the name we use for the aliens like the one locked up down at the...ahem. The love shack."

"Wait, what?" Jack shook his head. "What is the love shack?"

"Your basic rape room," Doc said. "Lenny took it on himself to drag me down there to shut me up."

"Rape room? A weevil in a rape room?" Jack took Doc by the shoulders. "Who is Lenny? What happened? Did it hurt you? Why did he need to shut you up?"

"Come on, I'll explain along the way." Doc took Jack's hand and lead the way, Ianto, Mitchell and his attendees, Frank, Mike and Danny trailing behind down the corridor. "For starters, your really aggressive female weevil, Jack. Janet. Know why she's like that? Her mate. I looked into his mind and I saw Janet there. She's angry because he's her mate and they've been separated so long."

Frank tagged along, listening to Doc nattering on, explaining this and that to Jack, their fingers loosely tangled together, as though they were just a couple out for an evening stroll. He couldn't help wondering what kind of mad life they must have led together, these two. It was as if this sort of thing might have happened on a fairly regular basis. They passed by a knot of UNIT soldiers. One carried a small, frail-looking alien out of a room. It—or rather she—was multicolored with large, startlingly blue eyes and delicate wings, now tattered and weak from lack of use. She lived mostly on honey. She had been there a long time. Frank knew horrible things had been done to her and hung his head in shame that he hadn't acted sooner.

"Doc!" cried the young medic looking the little alien over. She rose and hugged Doc tightly. "I'm so happy to see you! Are you okay?"

"I'll catch you up later, Martha. I'm fine. Really I am. Looks like we've all got our work cut out for us though, right?"

"Yeah," Martha replied. "Poor little Wendisi here, she's in bad shape. Her name is Lirili. Her ship crashed. No other survivors. I think I can save her. She's been deprived of sunlight for too long, though."

Doc looked at Mitchell. "She'll get all the sunbathing in she wants," Mitchell said with a nod. "Wendisi are probably my favorite aliens. Outside of Time Lords."

As they moved along Frank noticed Doc's strides became longer, as though he was in a rush to get to this, what had he called it? Weevil. He chattered as he went, filling Jack and Mitchell in, how Lenny had intended to frighten Doc into stopping singing. Jack had had a good laugh at Doc's antics. "That's so you," Jack had interjected, his eyes sparkling. "Singing your way into and out of trouble!" Frank noticed Jack's color had improved since he'd found Doc, and that he had lost much of that gaunt look. As they neared the love shack, Doc suddenly bolted ahead of them.

"Just going to let him know we mean him no harm," he said over his shoulder. He rounded a corner.

That's when the air seemed to explode with a loud bang. The rest rushed forward, Jack leading the way. As they too rounded the corner, to Frank's horror, there was Lesley, standing over Doc, gun in hand.

"No!" Jack rushed forward, arm outstretched.

Lesley fired another shot, then another. Blood, red with an orangey tint to it, puddled alarmingly around Doc's head. Jack rushed forward, pulling his own weapon. There was a struggle. More shots rang out. Lesley fell, but so did Jack. UNIT solders surrounded Lesley and disarmed him. Jack had dragged himself over to Doc.

"No, no, no, oh sweethearts!" Jack cried, not seeming to notice his own wounds. "Oh, God, I knew this would happen some day...I just didn't want you to ever have to...oh, Doc."

Frank could see the head and neck wounds. There could be no surviving this.

Ianto leapt forward. "Oh, no," he moaned. "This can't be...Jack, I think he's dead."

"I know. Leave him. Don't touch him. Something's going to..."

And then the death rattle as Jack died.

Ianto put his arm out to keep the others away. "He said not to touch him," barked the Welshman.

It didn't take long to see why. Doc began to glow with a golden light...and suddenly both dead men gave a deep, sawing intake of breath, like a death gasp in reverse somehow... Wounds closed themselves as though by magic. Frank felt dizzy. Because he had just witnessed the corpses of two dead men come back to life. That's when he fainted.

When he came around Jack was holding Doc in his arms. "I'm sorry, sweethearts, I'm so sorry."

"Horrible," Doc gasped. "It was horrible. So cold and dark. I was so alone. And then..."

Jack drew back, a blank look of shock on his face. "That's never happened to me before. I was always afraid there was someone waiting for me in the dark. And I was always afraid. But I didn't have to be."

Frank watched as this pair of blood-soaked men, men who apparently could raise themselves from the dead, touched and comforted each other. "It was an echo of me. A me that hadn't become immortal just yet, but would be." Doc said. "All along, it was me in the dark, waiting for you, and you didn't know. It was awful for me, too. But then I sensed it; our bond."

Ianto stepped forward. He was red in the face; a vein stood out in his forehead. "He's immortal, too." Ianto snarled. "He's immortal, and you didn't tell us, Jack! Do you have any idea what that was like for me? To watch him die, thinking it was for good? Jack Harkness, you can be so fucking infuriating sometimes!"

"I thought you told them," Jack said, looking at Doc.

"And I thought you told them," Doc said. He looked at Ianto. "Don't be angry, Eeyore, honestly, it's all just a misunderstanding."

"Bastards!" Ianto said. "When Martha finds out she's going to chew you both out. Gwen, too."

"Now I know what insanity feels like," Frank heard himself say, suddenly and rather loudly.

The big weevil sat in a corner and rocked himself. He was whimpering.

Mitchell slapped Frank on the back. "Welcome to my world," he said, and suddenly laughed. "You and your friends are going to need jobs, Frank. I think I could use your help. Pay's very good."

"Definitely what going insane feels like," Frank replied.

XXXXXXXXXX

UNIT medics had arrived. Lesley lay strapped down on a gurney, a bolus dangling over his head. He looked at Mitchell. "What are you doing? I want to talk to my solicitor!"

"Solicitor?" Mitchell gave a single, sharp bark of laughter. "You won't need one. You're to be held indefinitely."

"You can't do that!" Lesley said. "I have rights!"

"Sure you do," Mitchell said, voice low and little dangerous. "Josef Mengele was pretty sure he had rights, too. The two of you are peas in a pod as far as I'm concerned. Downing Street has given me the green light to do as I please with you, as long as you never breathe free air again. I've been in touch with your sponsors as well. You've pissed off a lot of very rich, very powerful people with what you've done here. They don't know it wasn't humans you were experimenting on, and they never will know. But you've blacked their eyes, and they aren't happy. Consider it protective custody. Consider it punishment. I really don't give a damn what you think of it. Just know you'll never walk free again, you sadistic fuck." Mitchell nodded at the UNIT medics. "Get this scum out my sight before I finish what Captain Harkness started."

Mitchell then turned to another group of soldiers. "Collect all data and destroy it. Let's get this damned hell-hole cleared out. The sooner it's burned to the ground the better."

With his soldiers trotting off to do their jobs, Mitchell strode down the hall and found Jack and Doc in a scrub room where they were attempting to clean as much blood off as they could. Martha Jones was with them and apparently was in the middle of giving them a good dressing down for not telling the others about Doc's Lazarus abilities. Jack seemed unruffled, if a bit irritated, but the look on Doc's face was priceless. He looked exactly like a ten year old boy having to take a blessing out from his mother, up to and including rolling his eyes, ready for it to just be over and done with.

Mitchell placed a hand on Martha's shoulder. "Don't you think they've got the message, Mrs. Jones? The two of them have been through enough for now, don't you think?"

Martha glared at him, but then her expression softened and she laughed at herself. "Suppose you have a point," she conceded. "All of the surviving aliens have been removed. We had to sedate the big weevil, though. He was upset terribly and kept trying to get to our friend, Doc, here. He's on his way to the Hub to be with Janet, his mate. We'll take good care of him. The Wendisi, Lirili, I don't know if she'll ever regain the use of her wings, but she'll live."

"She won't need her wings, Mrs. Jones. She can shelter under mine. I'll personally see to it that she has the best of everything. They have such gentle dispositions, the Wendisi. Such beautiful little things. Such a shame this had to happen to her. Taught myself to speak Wendisi. I'll see she's done right."

Their conversation was interrupted by a growl from Doc, followed by a "Stop it, Jack!"

"You missed a spot," Jack countered.

"Our entire bodies are a pair of missed spots, Jack! I want to go home. I want a bath. A bath and a cup of tea and a long, long nap. Dunno why, but I feel awfully sleepy."

"Ianto said you were glowing before you came back."

"Regenerative energy, you think? My body thought it needed to regenerate, but then it didn't. So I have a build-up. That explains it. And the headache as well."

"All right, you," Martha interrupted. "That's it for you. Jack, take him home and make tea for him. All he can drink. It'll help with the excess regenerative energy. Doctor's orders."

"Come on," Mitchell said to them. "I'll drive you myself."


	11. Milk Run - part 8

Author's Notes:

I know I said this would be the last chapter, but edit and rewrite all I may, I just couldn't sew it up like that without compromising the romantic scenes. I hope this chapter makes it worth the wait, and the next chapter should finish it neatly. And probably with much porn.

XXXXXXXXXX

* * *

><p>'I'll drive you myself' apparently meant something a little different to Mitchell than to most folks, Jack discovered. Mitchell's driver held the doors for his passengers; Mitchell in the front passenger seat, Jack and Doc in the spacious back seat, which resembled a high-end sofa built for comfort. The address was given and the driver pulled away from the horror that was Lesley's experimentaldeath lab.

The ride was silent. No one needed to think it through much. Mitchell was tight-lipped with his missions, even with his driver, so Jack followed suit. Not typical at all for Doc. He should have been babbling away ninety to nothing, yet he hadn't said a word. Come to that, he hadn't moved much. Jack touched his cheek.

Mitchell, noticing this in the rear view mirror, turned and laid a finger on his lips. "He's sleeping," Mitchell said, sotto voce.

Jack looked closer. Mitchell was correct. Doc, head nestled in the hollow of Jack's shoulder, was sleeping away. Upon arrival at the Hub, Jack was loathe to disturb him. But he couldn't leave Doc in such a state, still blood-soaked and in need of tea to remedy his head pain and drain off excess regenerative energy.

Mitchell stepped out of the car and opened Jack's door, motioning him to help get Doc to his feet. Jack grunted, "He might be slender, but you'd be surprised how heavy he is as a dead weight." Jack shifted, attempting to get himself and his charge out of the back seat.

Mitchell bent, and in a no-nonsense manner, scooped Doc up, settling the sleeping Time Lord's head on his own shoulder. With a grunted "Come on, Harkness. You look worn out yourself," Mitchell turned and walked towards the Hub.

"Colonel Mitchell, lets go this way," Jack nodded in the direction of the back entrance. "Closer to our home."

"Well, that's something even UNIT doesn't know," Mitchell grinned. "I feel honored."

"Not something we share with everyone, so if you would, mum's the word. We like our privacy and personal space."

Jack led the way through the warren of tunnels until they came to what looked like a storage room. At least until Jack opened the door. In the back was another door painted in what Mitchell could only describe as TARDIS blue. Jack unlocked it and held the door open. As they entered, Doc stirred and opened his eyes. He squinted at Mitchell, a confused look on his face that morphed into a sudden pout.

"Want Jack," he grumbled.

"Just you hold onto your hair, little monkey, your Captain had his hands full opening the door," Mitchell replied. He put Doc on his feet. Mitchell patted his shoulder. "You want a good cleaning up. Then we need to get some tea into you. I know you're sleepy, but it's doctor's orders." He turned to Jack. "You're well known for your collection of fine scotch, Harkness. I could do with a double while you two get cleaned up."

Jack indicated the bar. "Right over there, sir. Take your pick. Make yourself at home." Jack slipped an arm around Doc's waist. "Come on, let's get this filth off of us." He led Doc to their bath, running a nice, warm stream into the tub. Turning his attention back to Doc, he helped his husband out of his clothing. "These look ruined," he observed.

"No, I have a cleaner almost finished I built from TARDIS parts the Doctor left us. I was afraid something would happen to my coat. Love this coat."

"Yeah? And I love it, too. I think my coat loves your coat as well." This earned Jack a grin. "No doubt that cleaner will mend it if needed, too, eh?"

"Well, yeah."

Jack smiled. "That's so you. Come on, into the tub." He helped Doc in, watching him settle back with a deep, contented sigh as he undressed himself and joined his husband. Jack soaped up a flannel and went to work, soaping up every little bit of his husband before washing his hair, then did the same for himself. He drained the tub, refilled it, and washed the both of them again.

The warm water and feeling clean again did its work. Doc's lids were drooping—Jack wrapped him in a big towel and watched him stumble off to their bedroom as he dried himself. He followed Doc and took out Doc's pyjamas and dressing gown before putting on his own pyjamas. Once presentable Doc flopped back on the bed. Jack took him by the wrist and pulled him up in spite of his whining. "Come on, you, tea time."

"Head hurts," he pouted.

"I know, sweethearts. But you know the tea will help."

"Yup," Doc mumbled. He let Jack lead him back to the living room where Doc flopped on their big sofa. He let his head drop back and closed his eyes, waiting on Jack to make his tea. Hearing ice clinking in a glass, he lifted his head and looked around. Oh. That's right, Mitchell was still here. He looked at the grizzled old veteran, blinking like a baby deer. "Since when did you decide you'd be my friend?" Doc said, as frank and direct as a four year old.

Mitchell chuckled. "You know, UNIT has known for some time about you. We knew you weren't exactly the Doctor, but you weren't exactly not the Doctor, either. I've heard about you. Heard about that brassy nature in you. That you're a nice enough fellow, but there's more than a little salt in the sugar. Didn't know how much of it I was willing to buy into until I met you. To answer your question, I knew I'd like you the second you talked back to me about the blowfish. Just so you know, I used to call my son 'monkey'."

"Used to, you say," Doc commented, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"He died at the Battle of Canary Wharf. Worked for Torchwood."

"Oh," Doc said, now leaning forward. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"You lost someone, too. Another universe, I take it. She may still be alive, but she's lost to you."

"She's with someone else, now. I've lost so many. Martha moved on. Donna forgot me, though that's fixed now. I was alone for too long. My own fault. Should have come to Jack sooner."

"You're right, there. That's another thing that reminds me of my son. He had a husband. Silly boy hid it from me for years. Never did come out until I told him I knew. It was like a weight off his shoulders."

"I've misread you terribly, Mitchell. Thought that was why you didn't like me. Thought you looked down on Jack and me because of our relationship."

"Doc," Mitchell leaned forward in his chair and took Doc's hand between his own two hands. "I lost my Mary eight years ago. I loved her beyond all reason, and I know she loved me the same. Cancer took her from me. But what we had, it was...magical. I see that in you and Harkness, just like I saw it in my son and his husband. How can I begrudge anyone the kind of love like the love my Mary and I had? Let's put these misunderstandings between us away, shall we? Start fresh?"

Doc grinned. "I can do that," he said.

"Good, good, that's...great."

"I have a feeling there's something you want to say. Something more." Doc noticed Mitchell hadn't let go of his hand.

"Yes, well," Mitchell chuckled. "That husband of yours. He's crazy about you, you know. He was worried sick. He's got a whopping great case of the guilties for what happened to you. You are aware of that, aren't you?"

"He's my Jack. So yes, I figured as much. But thanks for saying so. We have a few things to work out, I know. I can't let him carry the guilt for what happened. Not when a lot of it belongs to me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."

"Thought you might," Mitchell said, giving Doc's hand a final pat. "You two have a lot to talk about, so I'll be making myself scarce shortly. But not before you get a cup of tea in you. Doctor Jones isn't afraid to bless me out, just so you know."

"That's my Martha," Doc grinned.

Mitchell rose to refill his glass. "I'll say one thing, Harkness knows his scotch."

"He knows his tea, too," Jack said as he entered, teacup and teapot on a tray, along with a small pitcher of milk. He sat the tray on a table and poured a cup. Doc watched him, a small smile on his lips. Jack's hand trembled a little as he poured milk in the bottom of the cup before adding the tea. Doc reached out and touched Jack's wrist, giving him a meaningful look. Jack smiled back at him, handed Doc his tea, then settled himself next to his husband. "Drink up, sweethearts," Jack said. "Let's get a couple of those in you. See if it helps that headache."

Mitchell returned to his chair. He carried a second glass of scotch with him and handed it to Jack. By the time Mitchell and Jack finished their drinks Doc had finished a second cup of tea and part of a third. He let his head loll on Jack's shoulder. He took a deep breath and yawned. A gold mist came out of his mouth with the exhale. "'M sleepy," he murmured. "Headache's gone now."

Mitchell rose and took Jack's glass, returning both of their tumblers to the bar. "Time I went home. Get him into bed for a good rest, Harkness. Soon as he's on his feet, we have further work to do before this mess is tidied up."

Jack settled Doc on the sofa and rose to escort Mitchell out. When he returned Doc was all but sleeping. He extended a hand; Doc took it and let Jack pull him to his feet. With a hand at the small of Doc's back, Jack guided him to their bed. He knelt and took off Doc's slippers, helped him out of his dressing gown. It was then he noticed Doc was wearing his Cat in the Hat shirt. Jack's heart twisted a little at the memory of Doc wearing that shirt when he was still broken, still Jack's baby that he had so adored caring for. This meant something. As Jack saw it, this was an unspoken message. Doc wanted comforting.

He snuggled up to his precious Time Lord and settled Doc's head on his chest, cradling him in his arms with a kiss on the top of his head.

Doc slept twelve hours straight. Jack didn't sleep a wink. Instead, he lay there just watching his love, those eyelids laying on his cheeks, mouth slack in peaceful slumber. Once in a great while, Doc would exhale the golden mist, then nuzzle into Jack's chest with what seemed to be a contented sigh. Jack, on a whim, inhaled some of the mist, just to see what it was like and felt himself energized my the excess regenerative energy. His being separated from Doc had taken a physical toll on him, but Doc's coming back from the dead with a difference had a positive side effect. The universe, it seemed, wanted to keep these only living fixed points in balance.

From time to time Jack would softly touch his face. He wanted to make love, but how could he? His inconsiderate behavior had caused his husband to be kidnapped, held prisoner, subjected to the unwanted attention of thugs and a megalomaniac. Jack had never felt so unworthy of Doc's love. How would he ever make it up to Doc?

When Doc began to stir a bit, Jack stroked his tousled head. He watched, knowing he wore a besotted look on his face, as his Time Lord wakened. Doc greeted him with a smile. With his tousled hair and sweet smile he resembled a pixie more than an ancient and powerful Time Lord.

"You stay put. Mister," Jack said. "I'm making you breakfast in bed." Doc gave him a sleepy smile, and Jack couldn't stop himself kissing that sweet smile.

The tray was so laden with everything Jack could find that Doc loved that it took some doing to ferry it onto the bed without toppling everything. Doc was sat up in bed, legs crossed tailor-style, an enormous grin on his face as he looked over all of the goodies on the tray. The bowl of fruit salad was hit first and hardest. Jack had made it himself: fresh strawberries, bananas, cherries and pineapple. Jack pushed cup after cup of tea into Doc's hands and fed him toffee dodgers and éclairs. There was so much food Jack had to help him eat it, and even then the tray was still half-full. Doc took the tray and set it aside.

"That was tasty," he said, settling himself in Jack's lap. "But I know something tastier."

Jack wrapped his arms around his love and buried his face in Doc's neck. He stroked his hands up and down Doc's back.

"Feels good," Doc said.

"God, I missed you so much," Jack mumbled into Doc's neck. "I was so afraid for you. I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. I took you for granted. I should have made that milk run, and I didn't. All my fault."

Doc pushed him away and looked into his eyes. "Stop it," he said. Jack felt slightly taken aback by the stern tone. "That was no more your fault than it was mine. It was Lesley's fault. His and whoever financially backed him." Doc waited for a reply, but none came. "Jack, don't, just...don't. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Jack looked into the eyes that captured him so completely. A tear trickled down his cheek. "My head is hearing you, baby, but my heart? Well, not so much."

'Give him a little time,' Doc thought. He settled himself next to Jack and held his hand quietly. 'Must not be completely over the regenerative energy overload just yet,' he thought, drifting back into a deep sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the days that followed, Jack hadn't made a single advance. Not wanting to pressure his husband, Doc poured himself into his work. He tweaked the brain regenerator and went with Mitchell to explain to Frank that he could use it to help his daughter. The application had been as successful as could be hoped for: she would never be neuro-normal, but she was much improved. She was now awake and aware, and relearning motor functions and speech. He helped Martha to treat some of the more injured aliens. The little Wendisi was now healing nicely and seemed to have taken a real liking to Mitchell. Her wings had not healed much, but there was still hope.

Jack, however, seemed lost within himself. Doc's frustration grew, and it must have been obvious. Gwen took him to their favorite café and sat him down. She reached across the table and laced her fingers between his, resting her other hand on her swollen belly.

"He's unsure of himself, and he thinks he's failed you. That's all it is," she said. "You need to jolt him out of it somehow, luv. Use that great imagination of yours. Find a way to bring him out of himself. Too bad you can't invent a gadget for that."

Doc stared at her a moment, then his blank expression changed, his face lit up in that charming, manic grin. "Oh, you are so brilliant! And I'm so thick! I know what to do, I can fix this. Oh, thank you, Penguin, what would I do without you?"

"Any time, Doc," she said with a grin. "We both have men in our lives. And that means sooner or later there will be man problems. I may have to ask you for advice someday."

He leaned across the table and kissed her cheek. "If there's anything I can ever do, you just say the word." And smiling now for the first time in days, he sipped his tea.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gwen stood up, pressing her hands against her aching lower back. She was heavily pregnant now and it was beginning to tell on her lower back and her swelling feet. She made her way to Jack's office. She rapped her knuckles on the open door and walked in, taking a seat. "Working long hours all week, aren't you?" She gave him a smile.

"Yeah, my work-load got pretty log-jammed while I was, well. I was ill. You know."

"From being separated from Doc, I understand."

"Yeah. Side effect of being so deeply bonded as fixed points is what Doc says. Normally it wouldn't happen that way, but that changed when he became a fixed point, too. Where is he? I haven't seen him since you two came back from the café earlier today."

"He said there was something he wanted to work on. Something special. Not here, but in his workshop at home. He's probably waiting on to you to knock off." She reached across the desk and laid her hand on his. "Don't keep him waiting too long, Jack. If you could see his face when he talks about you to me... He really is mad about you, you know. And he never lets on, but I can tell. He needs you. He needs to be with you. If he was mine, I think I might have to set aside some time to spend just with him. Especially after all the two of you went through."

Jack looked into her eyes, the sudden resurfacing of the memory of why he had recruited Gwen to start with springing into his mind. Gwen, who had convinced him that Torchwood could do more, who had shown him again and again that in dealing with the inhuman, they must not themselves become inhuman. Gwen, with compassion as strong as her will. He felt himself smiling and squeezed her fingers.

"Yeah," he said, the word so soft it was almost a whisper. "You're right. And you know what? You're working too long a day, yourself. I think you should go home and put your feet up. And I should go home and see what I can sort out."

Rising, she kissed his cheek and bid him goodnight. Jack sat there, in a Hub now empty of all but himself, and listened to the doors locking down. He took a deep breath, shut off his computer, turned out the lights and headed for home.

He found Doc in his workshop fiddling with something. His hair was wild, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth, seemingly absorbed in what he was doing, his sonic screwdriver whirring away like mad. Jack felt a grin spreading across his face.

Without even looking up, Doc said, "About time you got home. I don't care if that did sound like a nagging fishwife."

"Yeah, sorry, babe." Jack strolled over to him and kissed his cheek. "Your GPS wrist-strap? What on earth are you doing to it?"

"Just a little tweak here and there. I need your wrist-comp to finish up."

"My—my wrist-comp?"

"Did I stammer? Come on then, hand it over." Doc held out an open palm and Jack obediently handed over his wrist-comp. No sooner had Doc gotten it in his hands than the sonic whirred about it.

"But...what are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Keying your wrist-comp to pick up my signal if I don't check in at a given time, anytime I'm out on my own. From now on, I wear my GPS. All the time. Just like you do your wrist-comp." He took Jack's wrist and put his wrist-comp back on, then put his GPS wrist-strap on his own wrist. He placed a hand on Jack's cheek. "I was...I was stupid. I'm so used to just walking around like I own the universe. But everything is different, now. The world is aware that there are aliens. And I'm an alien stuck on earth. I have to adjust. You told me once I was having growing pains. Well, we both just had a terrible time with growing pains, Jack. We live and learn. We take our lesson, we stay together. We love each other, maybe even more than before. Because we know how painful it is to be apart. Now we move on."

"But...it's my fault. What happened. I took you for granted. You wouldn't have gone out if I had just—"

"Stop it," Doc said sternly. "You don't get to do that. Nobody gets to say anything like that about you. Not around me. Not even you. We aren't perfect, Jack. We both made mistakes, and we'll make more mistakes. It's all right! That's how we grow as a couple."

"Doc," Jack started.

"No," Doc asserted, shaking his head. "No more of this nonsense, now." He took Jack's hand and led him out of the workshop and to their sofa. He pushed Jack, forcing him to sit, then climbed onto Jack's lap and encircled him with those long arms. "You've comforted me when I was broken, when I have bad dreams. You comfort me when I feel out of my depth, when I miss being out there in time and space. Now it's my turn to comfort you." He took one of Jack's hands and placed it on his hip. "Now shut up and kiss me, you idiot."

Doc's lips brushed Jack's, then deepened into a tender, long kiss...and Jack suddenly couldn't stop himself from responding. He circled Doc in his arms, hugging him tight, returning the kiss with a deep and emotionally driven passion. His hands began to wander seemingly on their own and tongues tangled and moans drifted through the air. He tugged at a button on Doc's shirt.

Suddenly Doc pulled away. There was mischief in his eyes and that wide grin. "Ah-ah! Not until we test out my GPS." He pushed a button on the gadget and Jack's own wrist-comp beeped in response. "You stay right there. I'm going to hide. In about fifteen minutes, my GPS should trigger your wrist-comp that I'm missing and turn on a tracker. Find me, and you can have me."

"But..."

"No, stay!" Doc pointed a finger at him. "Come and find me. Catch me...and then...do what you want."


	12. Milk Run - part 9

Author's note and a bit of a vent.

Very sorry for the long wait. Real life, the holidays and an illness got in the way. Add to that a drive by ripping into by someone who got their panties in a wad because Jack is in love with Doc only and not 11 and you have writers block. Thanks to that anonymous person who apparently is too cowardly to leave a name. Just so you know, Jack is in love with his Doc only, and 11 has River. Because it's my story and I won't write it to suit you. In case you didn't notice this is a TENTH DOCTOR story.

XXXXXXXXXX

Milk Run – part 9

It was a long fifteen minutes, Jack noted, watching the seconds tick by on his wrist-comp. But right on time, there was a tiny but sharp little chime to alert Jack that the GPS locator had turned itself on, just as it should if Doc did happen to be gone for longer than he should have. Jack stood and watched the GPS indicator flashing its little graphic, telling him which way to go in search of his lover.

"The Hub?" Jack chuckled. "Really? Not trying too hard, are you, sweethearts?" He made his way there. The lights were still off, lending the place a somewhat haunted feel. He heard a little bumping sound. After a few seconds came another. Jack homed in in the sound. But it wasn't Doc. What he found was a little wind-up mouse bumping into a table only to back up and bump it again and again. Grinning, he stooped and picked it up, letting it wind down in his hand before pocketing it. He called out "That's cheating!"

He got an echoing snicker as an answer and the sound of footsteps. "You can run, but you can't hide," he said, rushing after the sound and checking his wrist-comp. Heading for the back entrance, then. He got there just in time to hear a door slam. Going up to the roof, then. He would be cornered with no place else to run. "Got you now!" Jack yelled as he took the stairs two at a time. Swinging the access door wide, he stepped out onto the roof. After the warmth of the day and the rush of excitement the night air felt fresh and cool. He cast about, looking for Doc, walking further out on the roof. He heard a shuffling sound behind the access point and rounded the corner. But Doc had slipped away again, going back around and back through the access door with a whoop of mischievous excitement.

Jack rushed after him. Damn, but those long legs could carry the little alien shit like a deer, and Doc had already gotten a good head start. All those centuries of running coupled with his lengthy stride made Doc a swift quarry. Jack checked his wrist comp again and slowed his pace. Really? Doc had run back to their little underground domicile. Cornered for sure this time.

On the landing Doc had shed his long coat and left it on the floor. Little shit knew Jack would stop to pick it up, giving him a further lead in their game of cat and mouse. A few more steps down lay Doc's tie, tossed aside to further slow Jack down. He collected it, and sure enough, a few more steps and there lay his coat. Jack grinned. At this rate his Time Lord would be naked before he could get inside their home. As he went along he had to stop and collect more and more garments. Doc had to be down to his underpants by now.

Entering their home, Jack checked his wrist comp again. Doc had really done a great job tweaking their equipment; Jack could tell quite easily that his lover had gone to their bedroom. When he opened the door and stepped inside, however, he saw no one there. He tossed the clothing he had collected onto a chair. Looked in the closets. Not there. Checked the bathroom. Another dead end. He stood at the foot of their bed and scrubbed his chin with a hand in puzzlement. "I know you're in here," he said. "You cheated with that mouse! When I get my hands on you..."

A snicker. And then he saw it, just visible under their bed. The bottom of a converse. A green converse. Jack pounced and snagged an ankle, dragging Doc out. He had planned this in advance, down to shedding his clothing for Jack to pick up. And Jack knew this because he was wearing his Peter Pan costume. Doc had left that trail of clothing for Jack to pick up so he would have time to change and hide under the bed.

He said nothing at first, just gave a cheeky grin, eyes sparkling and wide with mischief. His tongue flicked out just to add a little sauce. The smile he wore was subtle, one corner of his mouth turned ever-so-slightly up. "Caught me," he said, voice husky.

"You cheated," Jack replied. "You're a cheating cheater who cheats."

"Oi, never said I'd make it easy, did I? Where's the fun in that?"

Jack stood, capturing a wrist to pull Doc up and into his arms. "Nice touch, leaving a trail of clothing for me to pick up after you. And the mouse. I liked that. As in 'cat and mouse'. You're just full of tricks, aren't you?"

"I try," he said, looping his arms around Jack's neck.

Jack scooped him up and sat at the foot of the bed, settling his love in his lap. He traced the shell of Doc's ear with a finger, letting the fingertip caress its way to Doc's cheek, then to his top lip. Doc first kissed, then nibbled his finger, finally grabbing his hand and easing Jack's finger into his mouth, sliding his lips to the knuckle and suckling. His eyes turned glassy just before the lids slid closed.

Jack maneuvered himself onto the bed, holding Doc, gentle and firm. Doc slid his hands up Jack's chest, then up to his head, fingers caressing Jack's scalp before grasping fistfuls of hair and pulling his husband into a kiss. Doc's mouth was hot and wet, grasping and hungry. He kissed his husband like he wanted to swallow him piecemeal. Twin hearts hammered against Jack's chest.

He rolled Doc onto his back, pinning him down. "You know what this costume does to me, don't you?" Jack said with a grin.

Doc nipped his chin in answer. "I know it makes you want to take it off," he said with a saucy twinkle in his eyes.

"So it does," Jack growled. He kissed Doc lazily as his fingers loosened fastenings and peeled away layers. Green converse were tossed on the floor along with piece after piece of the Peter Pan costume until Jack had him naked and trembling in his arms.

"Me, now," Doc said, his voice a husky tremor. Nimble fingers unbuttoned buttons, slid off braces, undid Jack's trousers. "Top me," he demanded. He nipped Jack's neck, his hunger ferocious. "I need you. I need you inside me. It's all I've been able to think about since you got me out of that place. I need you to fill me up, Jack." He parted his thighs in invitation, grasping Jack's wrist to guide his hand down and between his legs.

Jack grasped the hardness he found, working Doc's shaft with slow, firm strokes. He squeezed the head until Doc gave a tremulous moan. He cupped Doc's heavy balls and squeezed gently, rolling them with expertise, knowing exactly how his husband like to be touched and was rewarded with Doc's response: his chest heaved and he squirmed, filling his husband with delight. Easing his hand further, he found Doc wet and open with eagerness, and he inhaled that wonderful scent of honey and sage.

Lying on his back, knees bent, legs spread wide, Doc presented the picture of wantonness. "Fuck me," he growled. "Fuck me dirty. Fuck me to tears."

"You said if I caught you I could do what I want," Jack said. "No topping from the bottom. That doesn't mean I _won't _fuck you to tears. But I'm doing it my way."

Doc's chest heaved even harder than before at Jack's firm tone. His face flushed pink with want and his eyes had a fierce glitter. He squirmed beneath Jack, a mixture of delight and desire, partly in demand but also a heartfelt attempt to tease Jack into losing control. Not falling for it, Jack eased him onto his belly. He traced the top-line of Doc's shoulder with a fingertip and kissed the shell of his ear, noting the goose flesh rising on his lover's arms. Jack let his lips brush, ghost-like, from ear to nape of neck, then kissed his way down Doc's arching back, pausing to lavish attention around both shoulder-blades before drifting lower to those delightful sacral dimples. He dropped light little pecking kisses over every inch of skin on Doc's buttocks, smiling as his lover raised himself to meet Jack's mouth.

Easing Doc once more onto his back, Jack again started with Doc's ears, mouthing both until the object of his love and desire whimpered, chest rising and falling with desperation. Doc threaded trembling fingers through Jack's hair, attempting to push Jack's head lower. Jack captured his wrists, guiding his hands to his sides. "Grab the sheets, sweethearts," he said. "You said anything I wanted. I want to take care of you. I want to make you feel so good. Yes, that's it. Just relax. Let me show you what you do to me."

Doc gave a gasping nod. Jack kissed and laved his lovers neck with his tongue, then captured a nipple between his lips, sucking it, scraping gently with his teeth, then tugging and stretching it until it stood hard, proud and sensitized to the point where Jack only needed to blow on it softly to make Doc squirm. He worked on the other nipple the same way, then alternated between them a while, selfish and slow. As Jack dropped more kisses down Doc's belly he couldn't fail to notice the quivering abdominals. He sucked on the skin around Doc's navel, then dipped his tongue into the little hollow before sliding his lips lower, hovering over Doc's shaft. "Usual rule applies," Jack said with a wicked grin. "No coming until I say. You're my candy. And tonight I have a real sweet tooth."

And oh, the sounds Doc made as Jack took his sweet time. And take his sweet time he did, until his lover was a squirming, trembling, moaning and beautiful mess. The fistfuls of sheet in his hands looked ready to rip. Jack withdrew to kiss his way down one thigh and up the other. "So sweet," he rasped. "I'm ready for my appetizer now. Give it to me." He took Doc into his mouth again. He had to use all his strength and weight to hold his lover down as hips rose from the mattress and cry after cry filled Jack's ears as Doc yielded up his juices to his hungry lover.

Merciless yet tender, Jack slid up Doc's body, pushing apart thighs gone weak with satisfaction. "Get those ankles in the air, sweethearts," said Jack, claiming Doc's mouth. Doc slipped his legs around his husband and Jack sank into him inch by slow, blissful inch. "Now, let's just see how many times I can make you come."

And the really great thing was that after so many times Jack had not allowed Doc to come until given permission, all he had to do was tell his husband when, and over the edge he went. Again and again Jack made him come before taking his own pleasure, The first time he could feel himself flooding his lover's body until his juices pooled beneath Doc's ass. He only allowed himself a short respite between times. Tonight of all nights, Jack was grateful for his 51st century genetics. He worked Doc's body over and over again, making him come as many times as he could between his own orgasms. He was demanding; even commanding, yet always tender, slow, gentle. He played his lover's body like a fine instrument and reveled in the music of his cries, moans, sighs and gasps. The sounds were a symphony of passion to his ears.

Now, cuddling on sheets soaked in sweat and sticky with seed, Doc clung to his lover, nuzzling into Jack's chest. Jack let his hands skate, soft and warm, in slow, tender stokes up and down Doc's back. He kissed the tawny head wet with the sweat of satisfaction, then cupped Doc's chin and kissed him, long and deep and with such tenderness that Doc made a soft little sobbing sound in Jack's mouth.

"You okay, baby?" said Jack, dropping quick little kisses on his lover's face. He held Doc's chin so he could look him thoroughly in the eye.

Doc swallowed hard and nodded. "I needed that," he replied. "I needed it just like you did it."

"My baby," Jack smiled, his eyes filled with love. "I wasn't thinking straight. You've needed this ever since you got back. You needed it because Lesley made you feel used. You needed me to take that away. And I was too deep in self-pity to see it."

Doc nodded, and God help Jack, but he looked so innocent with that little smile on his lips and his eyes gone big and soft as a baby deer's eyes. "You know, one of the things that stopped me going mad was my love stamp." He touched the little key-shaped pendant that he never took off. "I could feel it, you know. How much you love me. It speaks to my heart."

"They do that," Jack replied, laying his hand over Doc's. Pressing the love stamp into the skin at Doc's throat. "And you're so telepathically sensitive, I would imagine it speaks to you in ways we poor humans can't comprehend."

Doc's smile widened. "S'pose it does," he said, eyes sparkling. "It's comforting," he went on. "I can feel you telling me I'm the universe's greatest gift to you. I can feel how much you love me. How much you believe in me." His arms suddenly slid around Jack's neck. He kissed his husband's cheek, then his lips. "Coming to you, asking you to help me, finally admitting to myself how much I need you; best thing I ever did for myself."

"Best thing you ever did for me, too," Jack agreed. "I'm so grateful I never lost hope that some day you'd be mine. And you are. All mine, for all time. For eternity. And even that can't be long enough."

He kissed Jack again. "You wore me out tonight. In the best way. Only one thing more I'd like to ask."

"Anything you want, sweethearts."

"I want a bath, and clean sheets. We're both all sweaty, and my bum is getting very sticky. Also?"

"Yeah?"

"A good soak in some nice hot water...it'll help tomorrow."

"Help what?"

"Help me be able to sit!"

"I have something you can sit on," Jack said with a grin.

"Jack! You can't possibly..." Doc's hand slid between then until he found what he wanted. "Oh!" Doc gave a shrug. "Wellll... I always did say you're an impossible thing."

"I've got your impossible thing," Jack rolled onto his back, pulling Doc on top of him. "Straddle me, sweethearts. Just a little more. Ride my cock. I know you think you can't come again, but you know I've shown you before that I can always make you come again."

Doc sat up, straddling Jack's hips. Reaching behind himself, he guided Jack inside. "Challenge accepted, you arrogant bastard."

"That's what you get for filling me up with that magical Time Lord natural aphrodisiac."

"Well, then, I guess I'll just have to take responsibility for that, then." Doc began rocking his hips. His bit his lower lip and moaned.

And Jack did, in fact, make him come again. More than once. After that, they had a long soak in their tub before changing the sheets and snuggling in for the night.

They had a surprise visitor the next day. Colonel Mitchell dropped by, the little Wendisi, Lirili, in tow, dressed like a human child to disguise the fact she was far from human.

They adjourned to the conference room. Lirili carried a box with a large TARDIS blue ribbon on it.

"She wanted to thank the pair of you," Mitchell said. He placed a gentle hand at the small of her back, just below her still-tattered wings and guided her in Doc and Jack's direction. She offered the box to Doc, who stood next to his chair until Jack pulled it out for him in a gentlemanly manner. Lirili waited for Doc to sit, a small and patient smile on her face. Obviously she wanted to wait until Doc was seated to present her gift.

Mitchell watched the faces of his friends as Doc opened the box. Inside was nestled a bouquet of roses, a basket of exotic fruit, a jar of Tupelo honey, a box of dark chocolate and a bottle of Scotch that Jack knew would fetch a couple thousand pounds in the exclusive market of fine Scotch whiskey.

"I helped her choose what to get," Mitchell said. Lirili returned to his side and perched on the arm of his chair, smiling with triumph at the delighted expressions of the faces of her rescuers.

She looked up at Mitchell and said something in a high, sweet, ululation of alien language.

"She wants to know if something is wrong with you Doc, you seem a little uncomfortable," Mitchell said.

"Oh, he's fine," Jack said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Just...took a little tumble."

Mitchell couldn't help but notice Doc's cheeks had gone a bit pink. "Yup," said Doc. "I... ehrmmm...well, usually a nice long soak in a hot bath helps. Guess it must have been a bit more of a tumble than I thought, though. Ahem."

"Oh?" Mitchell said, mischief in his own eyes. Of course he wouldn't push the matter, but he wasn't stupid. "I won't ask what happened."

"Thanks, Lirili, the gifts are just perfect," Doc said, completely dodging the subject.

Not so much, however, with Jack. He winked at Mitchell. "Oh, he's fine," he said, giving them his patented Captain Jack Harkness 500 megawatt smile of smugness. "It's just...growing pains."


End file.
